THE   REMINISCENCES    OF   THE 
RIGHT  HON.  LORD  O'BRIEN 


^^-^^"^^^^.e^ 


JNl)JM.liU'/VAK.13    ABNOI.O 


THE    REMINISCENCES 
OF   THE    RIGHT   HON. 

LORD    O'BRIEN 

(OF   KILFENORA) 

LORD    CHIEF  JUSTICE    OF   IRELAND 


EDITED  BY  HIS  DAUGHTER 

HON.   GEORGINA   O'BRIEN 


WITH   PORTRAIT 


NEW  YORK 

LONGMANS,  GREEN  AND  CO. 

LONDON:  EDWARD  ARNOLD 

1916 


INTRODUCTION 

It  is  a  matter  of  sincere  regret  to  me  that  an  afologia 
for  inadequacy  should  preface  this  volume,  which,  as 
an  autobiographical  work,  is  incomplete  and  frag- 
mentary. I  acted  as  my  father's  amanuensis,  and 
each  evening  used  to  bring  him  the  manuscript, 
saying,  "  Shall  we  work  a  little  to-night  ?"  To  which 
request,  when  we  first  undertook  the  book,  he  would 
assent.  Alas  !  as  the  days  passed  by,  the  answer, 
"  Not  to-night,  I  am  too  tired,"  became  more  and 
more  frequent,  until  at  last  there  came  an  evening 
when  he  said:  "  You  will  have  to  complete  the  book 
alone,  unaided  by  me;  I  can  work  no  more.  I  have 
every  confidence  in  you." 

I  had  hoped  that  the  writing  of  his  reminiscences 
would  provide  him  with  an  interesting  pastime,  in- 
stead of  which  it  soon  became  evident  that  speaking 
of  his  early  days  saddened  him.  For  one  who  had 
been  so  full  of  life  and  buoyancy,  so  vigorously  alive, 
it  was  a  sore  trial  to  spend  the  days  in  an  arm-chair, 
enfeebled  by  age  and  ill-health,  conscious  that  the 
tide  of  life  was  slowly   ebbing.      Truly  has  Dante 

said: 

"  Nessun  maggior  dolore 
Che  ricordarsi  del  tempo  felice 
Nella  miseria." 


vi  INTRODUCTION 

Very  reluctantly,  and  with  many  misgivings  as  to 
my  qualifications  for  the  work,  I  took  up  my  pen  to 
finish  what  was  to  me  a  sorrowful  task. 

Many  years  before  this  book  was  begun  I  suggested 
to  my  father  that  he  should  begin  an  autobiography, 
but  without  success.  He  was  indolent  about  writing, 
and  invariably  wrote  the  shortest  of  letters.  I  have 
heard  it  said  that  on  the  Bench  he  rarely  made  notes ; 
he  was  able  to  pigeon-hole,  as  it  were,  the  facts  of  a 
case  in  his  brain,  and  I  have  been  told  that  he  never 
forgot  any  point  whatsoever  that  had  any  bearing 
on  it.  Absolutely  devoid  of  intellectual  arrogance, 
he  was  ever  willing  to  listen  to  the  opinions  of  others, 
provided  they  were  clearly  and  intelligently  stated. 
Sometimes  he  would  read  the  evidence  in  a  case  to  a 
member  of  his  family,  and  then  ask  an  opinion  on  it, 
in  order  to  ascertain  the  view  which  a  non-legal  mind 
would  take  of  the  evidence,  so  that  he  might  fully 
understand  the  difficulties  which  would  present  them- 
selves to  a  jury.  One  day  he  called  me  into  his 
study  and  gave  me  a  brief  to  read.  When  I  had 
done  so  he  asked :  "  Now,  what  is  your  view  of  the 
case  ?" 

I  gave  him  my  view,  which  he  seemed  rather  to 
deride,  and  asked  me  on  what  grounds  I  based  my 
opinion.  Feeling  very  small,  I  stated  my  reasons  as 
best  I  could.  He  took  a  totally  different  view  of  the 
case. 

"  Now,  might  not  the  evidence  be  read  in  such  a 
way  ?"  he  said,  representing  other  views  of  the  case. 


INTRODUCTION  vii 

"  I  have  given  you  my  opinion,  such  as  it  is,"  I 
replied. 

He  smiled,  as  he  said:  "  Well,  I  have  been  en- 
deavouring to  urge  my  views  on  you  to  make  you 
see  things  in  the  same  light  as  I  do,  but  it  is  only 
fair  to  say  that  there  is  a  great  deal  to  be  said  in 

favour  of  your  opinion.    Judge  takes  exactly 

the  same  view  as  you  do.     I  fear  there'll  be  a  dis- 
agreement." 

A  distinguished  Judge  thus  wrote  of  him:  "He 
and  I  were  thrown  much  together  all  through  our 
professional  careers,  and  nothing  ever  interrupted  our 
mutual  regard  and  attachment.  It  was  a  joy  to  be 
with  him  in  a  case,  he  was  so  undaunted,  and  so 
thoroughly  master  of  all  the  resources  of  advocacy. 
As  an  antagonist  there  was  no  one  whom  I  feared 
more.  With  unerring  instinct,  he  always  directed 
his  powers  against  one's  most  vulnerable  point  of 
defence.  As  a  Judge,  he  displayed  those  great  quali- 
ties which  won  for  him  his  great  position.  Fearless, 
wise,  strenuous  to  make  justice  and  right  prevail,  and 
with  extraordinary  power  of  getting  at  the  honesty 
of  a  case  and  penetrating  false  evidence,  it  is  a  comfort 
and  satisfaction  to  have  been  comrade  at  the  Bar 
with  such  a  loyal  friend,  dauntless  advocate,  and 
admirable  Judge." 

G.  O'B. 

London, 

October,  1916. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

PAQB 
EARLY        RECOLLECTIONS — MY        FATHER — ^THE        FAMINE — 

RICHARD     LALOR     SHIEL — EDUCATION — SCHOOLDAYS      -  1 

CHAPTER  II 

TRINITY    COLLEGE — CALLED    TO    THE    BAR — HARRIERS — MY 

FIRST  PUNCHESTOWN — MY  FIRST  CASE     -  -  -        12 

CHAPTER  III 

EARLY  STRUGGLES — A   BREACH   OF  PROMISE — ISAAC   BUTT — 

JUDGE   KEOGH — THE  MUNSTER  CIRCUIT  -  -        20 

CHAPTER  IV 

I    CONTEST   CLARE — THE   QUEEN   V.    PARNELL  -  -        28 

CHAPTER  V 

THE  LAND  LEAGUE — MOON-LIGHTERS  -  -  -        31 

CHAPTER  VI 

A      MURDER      TRIAL — STORMY     AND     STRENUOUS     DAYS — A 

CLEVER   IMPOSITION  -  -  -  -  -         35 

CHAPTER  VII 

TRIAL     OP     FRANCIS      HYNES — "  PETER     THE      PACKER  " — A 

HUMOROUS   JARVEY  -  -  -  -  -         42 

CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  MAAMSTRASNA  MASSACRE — TRIAL  OF  THE  JOYCES  -        46 

ix 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTEK  IX 

PAQB 

THE   INVINCIBLES — THE    PHCENIX    PARK    MURDERS     -  -        51 


CHAPTER  X 

JUDGE    o'bRIEN.      (by   THE    EDITOR)  -  -  -        64 

CHAPTER  XI 

EARL   SPENCER — SIR  REDVERS   BULLER  -  -  -        67 

CHAPTER  XII 

MR.  A.  J.  BALFOUR — THE  MITCHELSTOWN  RIOTS — TRIAL  OF 
MR.  WILLIAM  O'BRIEN— A  BOGUS  MESSAGE— THE  PAR- 
NELL  COMMISSION  -  -  -  -  -        71 

CHAPTER  XIII 

NEWSPAPER  ABUSE — THE    CHANNEL   CROSSING  -  -         78 

CHAPTER  XIV 

MR.  WILFRED  BLUNT —  BLUNT  V.   INSPECTOR  BYRNE      -    81 

CHAPTER  XV 

MR.    DILLON   ARRESTED — SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    DUBLIN — FATHER 

HEALY — CRICKET — MONSIGNOR   PERSICO  -  -        87 

CHAPTER  XVI 

THE   GWEEDORE   TRIAL  -  -  -  -  -        92 

CHAPTER  XVII 

HUNTING    RECOLLECTIONS        -  -  -  -  -        97 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

A   judge's   DUTIES — A   NARROW   ESCAPE — SOME   WITNESSES       100 


CONTENTS  xi 


CHAPTER  XIX 

i'AGK 

LORD   JUSTICE   FITZGIBBON    -  -  -  -  -       104 


CHAPTER  XX 

SUCCESS   AS   A   MATCHMAKER  -  -  _  .      107 

CHAPTER  XXI 

ON   LITERATURE  -  -  -  -  -  -110 

CHAPTER  XXII 

USSHER   v.   USSHER     -  -  -  -  -  -113 

BY   THE  EDITOR 
CHAPTER  XXIII 

EXPERT  WITNESSES — SERJEANT  ARMSTRONG — LORD  RUSSELL 

— MR.    GLADSTONE — LORD   O'hAGAN  -  ~  -      135 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

AN   ELDERLY   LOTHARIO  -  -  -  -  -      140 

CHAPTER  XXV 

AN   AWKWARD   PREDICAMENT — FRIENDS — JUDGE    WEBB  -      143 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE      THEATRE — SPURGEON — CHRISTIAN      SCIENCE — DINNER 

WITH   QUEEN   VICTORIA  -  .  _  .       I47 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  BOAT  RACE    -       -       -       -   153 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

NEWLANDS   HOUSE — THE   INVISIBLE    COACH  -  -      157 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXIX 

PAUE 

CARLSBAD — VERSAILLES  -----      161 


CHAPTER  XXX 

ABBOTSFORD — DRYBURGH      ABBEY — SEDAN     DAY — HERBERT 

BISMARCK — LORD   WOLSELEY       -  -  -  -      164 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

RESIGNATION — LAST   DAYS      -----      169 

APPENDIX  I 

TRIBUTE   FROM   THE   JUDGES  -  ■;  174 

APPENDIX  II 

SPEECH   ON   women's   SUFFRAGE         -  -  -  -      178 


INDEX 


191 


THE   REMINISCENCES   OF  THE 
RIGHT  HON.  LORD  O'BRIEN 

CHAPTER  I 

EARLY   RECOLLECTIONS — MY   FATHER — THE   FAMINE — RICHARD 
LALOR  SHEIL — EDUCATION — SCHOOLDAYS 

I  THINK  it  is  Smollett  who  says  something  to  the 
effect  that  every  person  who  has  anything  to  say 
ought  to  write  his  own  memoirs,  provided  he  has 
honesty  enough  to  tell  the  truth.  Inasmuch  as  the 
truth  is  often  extremely  dull,  I  take  up  my  pen,  with 
many  misgivings,  to  write  my  reminiscences. 

I  was  born  in  the  year  1842,  on  the  29th  of  June, 
at  Carnelly  House,  in  the  county  of  Clare,  where  my 
family  was  then  domiciled.  My  father,  John  O'Brien 
of  Ballynalacken,  County  Clare,  was  a  Whig  and 
Member  of  Parliament  for  Limerick.  He  had,  as  we 
say  in  Ireland,  a  "  long  family."     I  was  his  fifth  son. 

He  was  a  man  of  undoubted  abilities  and  singularly 
broadminded,  but  cold  and  reserved  in  manner,  and 
though  he  kept  us,  children,  at  a  distance,  we  never 
doubted  the  affection  he  bore  us.  He  might  have 
left  a  mark  on  contemporary  history  had  he  not  been 
of  an  extremely  sensitive  nature — shy  and  diffident. 

1 


2         REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

He  was  a  warm  supporter  of  Catholic  Emancipation 
and  an  intimate  friend  of  the  great  O'Connell,  to 
whom  he  bore  a  very  remarkable  likeness,  and  for 
whom  he  was  frequently  mistaken,  a  fact  which  some- 
times gave  rise  to  curious  incidents.  It  is  to  my 
father's  eternal  credit  that  he  was  among  the  first 
Catholics  of  the  educated  classes  to  come  forward  in 
support  of  Catholic  Emancipation,  a  right  which, 
strange  to  say,  the  Catholic  gentry  of  Ireland  were 
very  slow  to  claim. 

I  have  now  in  my  possession  the  (London)  Morning 
Chronicle  of  the  15th  of  December  in  the  year  1836 
(price  5d.),  giving  an  account  of  a  meeting  held  in  the 
Court  House,  Clare ;  my  father  was  in  the  chair.  At 
this  meeting,  held  two  years  before  the  passing  of  the 
great  Poor  Law  Act,  resolutions  in  favour  of  Poor 
Laws  for  Ireland  were  unanimously  adopted.  At 
that  time  poverty  and  illness  were  rife  in  Ireland, 
and  a  great  portion  of  the  land  was  in  the  hands  of 
absentee  landlords.  My  father,  speaking  at  this 
meeting,  pointed  out  that  "  a  well-regulated  poor- 
rate  would,  in  a  degree,  have  the  effect  of  an  absentee 
tax,  from  which  the  resident  landed  proprietors  would 
derive  important  advantages  and  be  relieved  from  the 
painful  sense  of  living  in  the  midst  of  a  famishing 
population.  The  physical  and  moral  condition  of  the 
country  would  progressively  improve,  and  the  higher 
and  more  affluent  ranks,  whether  resident  or  absentee, 
would  be  compelled,  by  the  urgent  sense  of  self  in- 
terest, to  superintend  the  wants  and  ameliorate  the 


THE  FAMINE  3 

condition  of  the  humbler  classes.  It  is  appre- 
hended," he  said,  "that  a  poor-rate  may  encroach 
upon  rental,  but  whatever  part  is  so  appUed  will  pro- 
duce an  abundant  equivalent,  and  I  know  no  more 
appropriate  appHcation  of  national  rental  than  in  pro- 
tecting the  great  body  of  the  people  from  periodical 
starvation."  It  would  seem  that  my  father  foresaw 
the  evils  which  were  to  accrue  from  absenteesim. 

My  first  recollection,  a  melancholy  one,  impressed 
itself  indehbly  upon  my  mind,  and  comes  before  me 
as  distinctly  as  if  the  incident  took  place  only  yester- 
day, and  yet  how  many  years  have  elapsed  since  then  ! 
It  must  have  been  about  the  year  1847  or  1848,  the 
years  of  the  failure  of  the  potato  crop  and  the  great 
famine  known  in  Ireland  as  "  The  Great  Hunger." 
The  very  atmosphere  of  the  day  comes  before  me — a 
dull  grey  day,  with  a  low-hanging,  leaden  sky.  I  (a 
very  small  boy)  was  standing  in  a  field  with  my 
father,  who  held  me  by  the  hand,  and  near  by  was  a 
labourer  digging  potatoes.  Each  time  he  dug  up  a 
spade  full  of  potatoes  he  scraped  them  free  of  clay, 
and,  in  silence,  submitted  them  to  my  father's  inspec- 
tion. Consternation  and  despair  were  depicted  on 
the  man's  countenance.  Each  potato  was  blaqk  and 
rotten  at  the  core.  I  remember  walking  home  with 
my  father  and  thinking  the  while  how  grave  he  looked. 
The  years  1847  and  1848  were,  perhaps,  the  saddest 
years  in  the  all-sad  history  of  Ireland.  People, 
especially  in  the  west,  died  in  hundreds  from  dysen- 
tery, the  effects  of  starvation.    Clare  was  devastated 


4       REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

by  disease,  misery,  and  desolation.  The  workhouses 
were  overcrowded;  it  was  impossible  to  provide 
accommodation  for  the  starving,  and  on  the  road 
skeletons  were  to  be  seen.  A  child  of  my  tender 
years  was  not  permitted  to  see  these  harrowing  sights ; 
stiU,  I  perfectly  recoUect  hearing  them  described. 

My  early  recollections  come  back  to  me  in  a  frag- 
mentary manner.  Some  mere  incidents  stand  out 
vividly  in  my  memory,  while  events  of  importance  or 
personages  of  distinction  are  totally  forgotten,  or  but 
indistinctly  remembered.  As  a  small  child,  I  some- 
times met  Richard  Lalor  Shell,  who  was  a  connection 
of  our  family.  I  can  just  recall  the  vision  of  a  man 
of  dwarfish  appearance,  with  very  intelligent  eyes 
which  made  his  face  attractive. 

Shell  was  a  most  agreeable  companion.  His  ora- 
torical powers  were  so  great  that  they  rivalled  those 
of  O'Connell,  and  were  supposed  to  excel  even  those 
of  Macaulay.  My  father  attached  much  importance 
to  oratory,  and  was  no  mean  orator  himself;  indeed, 
Macaulay  congratulated  him  in  the  House  "  on  the 
force  and  eloquence  "  he  displayed  "  when  pleading 
the  cause  of  his  country."  This  occurred  in  1844. 
Lord  John  Russell  had  moved  for  a  committee  of  the 
whole  House  to  take  into  consideration  the  state  of 
Ireland.  I  think  in  those  days  more  importance  was 
attached  to  oratory  in  politics  than  at  the  present 
time.  Nowadays  one  hears  of  good  speakers  or 
clever  debaters,  but  rarely  of  great  orators.  I  some- 
times wonder  if  oratory  is  becoming  a  lost  art,  and 
fear  that  Mr.  Gladstone  and  John  Bright  were  the 


RICHAED  LALOR  SHEIL  5 

last  of  the  orators.  How  well  I  remember  the  well- 
known  Serjeant  Frank  Murphy  !* — a  brilHant  and 
amusing  conversationalist,  the  best  of  good  company, 
a  most  entertaining  raconteur,  and  much  sought  after 
in  London  on  account  of  his  many  social  gifts.  We, 
children,  delighted  in  his  society,  and  would  ask  him 
about  London  and  the  notable  people  he  had  met 
there.  He  used  to  speak  to  us  of  "  Old  Thack,"  as 
he  called  Thackeray,  who  was  a  friend  of  his, 
although  he  never  quite  forgave  him  for  his  unflat- 
tering portrait  of  the  Irish  in  the  Irish  Sketch  Book. 
The  Serjeant  was  a  confirmed  gourmet,  and  I  recol- 
lect his  telling  us  that  he  dined  with  Lord  Byron, 
who,  though  priding  himself  on  his  cook,  gave  a  very 
indifferent  dinner.  On  Lord  Byron  asking  him  what 
he  thought  of  the  cook,  he  answered,  with  more 
frankness  than  politeness:  "  Dam  bad." 

My  father  was  deeply  interested  in  the  education 
of  his  children,  and  was,  as  I  have  already  said,  rather 
severe.  My  three  elder  brothers  were  at  school  at 
Oscott,  and,  when  he  was  not  detained  in  London  by 
Parliamentary  duties,  he  used  to  superintend  my 
studies.  I  had  to  present  myself  in  the  library  each 
morning.  It  was  with  awe  that  I  came  into  his 
presence.  I  was  placed  in  the  far  corner  of  the  room 
and  made  to  read  aloud  from  one  of  the  Latin  classics, 
generally  Virgil,  and  woe  to  me  when  I  stumbled 

*  Serjeant-at-Law;  a  member  of  the  Englisli  Bar;  a  wiiter  of 
magazine  articles ;  contributed  to  Fraser's  Magazine,  which,  was 
established  by  Maginn,  and  was  under  the  auspices  of  Thackeray; 
M.P.  for  County  Cork,  1837-1853.— Editor. 


6       REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

over  or  mispronounced  a  word  !  I  still  hear  his  voice 
ringing  in  my  ears,  as  he  called  out  "  Sir,"  or  "  Sirrah, 
what  was  that  ?"  Sometimes  when  the  lessons  were 
over,  and  I  had  acquitted  myself  well,  he  would  con- 
verse with  me,  and  tell  me  some  story  or  incident 
by  way  of  reward.  I  remember  his  telling  me 
of  an  occurrence  which  made  an  impression  on  my 
mind.  One  dark,  wild  night  when  returning  from 
the  Clare  Assizes  (he  was  High  Sheriff  at  the  time), 
his  carriage  was  suddenly  stopped  on  a  lonely  road, 
and  an  individual  thrust  his  head  into  the  window 
saying  that  he  desired  to  give  himself  up  to  justice, 
"  for,"  he  said,  "  I  was  among  the  six  men  who  mur- 
dered Mr.  So-and-so."  He  alluded  to  the  murder  of  a 
gentleman,  which  had  taken  place  many  years  before, 
and  for  which  five  men  had  been  executed.  The 
man  then  proceeded  to  say  that  he  was  present  at 
the  death  scene  of  his  companions,  and  the  horror 
of  that  scene  still  haunted  him.  At  his  own  most 
earnest  wish  he  surrendered  to  justice,  and,  I  believe, 
paid  the  extreme  penalty  of  his  crime.  This  is  inter- 
esting only  inasmuch  as  it  shows  that  great  criminals, 
haunted  by  the  sense  of  their  guilt,  will,  years  after 
a  crime  has  been  committed,  surrender  to  justice 
rather  than  bear  the  reproaches  of  conscience. 

As  a  boy,  I  was  very  happy,  and  full  of  vitality. 
Most  of  my  time  was  spent  out  of  doors  hunting  hares 
or  coursing.  I  was  often  in  mischief,  and  numerous 
were  the  scrapes  in  which  I  was  involved,  from  many 
of  which  my  old  nurse,  Kelly,  extracted  me.  She 
was  a  typical  old-fashioned  Irish  servant,  very  faith- 


EDUCATION  7 

ful  and  devoted  to  us.  She  was  with  us  until  she 
died,  and  was  always  seventy-four  when  the  census 
came  round,  though  she  was  much  nearer  ninety- 
four  !  When  I  wished  to  tease  her,  I  used  to  say: 
"  Come  now.  Nurse  Kelly;  what  is  your  age  ?"  at 
which  question  she  immediately  flew  into  a  passion. 
Though  she  was  devoted  to  us  all,  I  think  I  was  her 
favourite — perhaps  because  I  gave  her  the  most 
trouble.  I  have  a  vivid  recollection  of  being  confined 
to  the  lumber-room  for  some  childish  escapade,  while 
the  kind  old  woman  sat  outside  the  door  with  an 
enormous  brown  nursery  teapot,  trying  to  console  me 
with  saucters  of  tea,  floating  with  cream,  which  she 
passed  through  the  door. 

One  trait  I  share  in  common  with  the  great  Dr. 
Johnson,  and  that  is  my  love  of  tea.  As  a  child,  it 
was  a  panacea  for  all  my  woes.  When  I  was  nine 
years  of  age  my  father  talked  of  sending  me  to  school, 
to  join  my  brothers  at  Oscott.  My  father  was  some- 
thing of  a  philanthropist,  which  often  means  spending 
more  money  than  one  can  afford.  He  had  built  a 
schoolhouse,  and  had  several  roads  made  throughout 
Clare  to  give  employment  after  the  famine — an  ex- 
pensive form  of  philanthropy.  In  those  days  elec- 
tions were  a  great  expense,  so  that  when  I  was  of 
age  to  go  to  school  the  family  exchequer  had  run 
rather  low.  It  was  decided  at  last  that  my  brother 
William  and  I  should  go  to  Clongowes  Wood  College. 
I  remember  feeling  very  sad  and  desolate  standing 
aloof  in  the  playground,  watching  boys  of  my  own 
age  flying  kites,  which  seemed  to  me  an  inane  pas- 


8       REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

time.  At  home  we,  children,  were  expected  to  take  an 
intelligent  interest  in  all  that  was  going  on,  and  were 
permitted  to  join  in  the  conversation  of  our  elders. 
The  Jesuit  Fathers,  on  perceiving  my  mental  isolation, 
moved  me  into  a  class  with  boys  older  than  myself. 
I  soon  overcame  any  feelings  of  home-sickness.  Many 
pleasant  memories  flash  back  upon  me  when  I  think 
of  those  distant  schooldays,  my  teachers,  and  my 
school  companions.  Father  Lentaigne  was  Rector  of 
Clongowes  then,  and  among  my  class-fellows  were 
several  boys  who  afterwards  rose  to  eminence.  John 
Naish,  one  of  my  dearest  friends  throughout  his  life, 
was  amongst  them.  He  became  Lord  Chancellor  of 
Ireland  when  little  over  forty  years  of  age.  Even 
as  a  small  boy  he  was  remarkable  for  exceptional 
ability;  indeed,  his  intellect  was  towering,  and  his 
memory  encyclopaedic.  His  early  death,  in  the  full 
vigour  of  his  glorious  intellectual  powers,  was  a  great 
shock  to  his  friends.  Sir  Nicholas  O'Connor,  after- 
wards Ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  the  dis- 
tinguished scholar,  Richard  O'Shaughnessy,  were 
class-fellows  of  mine,  also  Father  Donovan,  now  a 
Jesuit.  I  worked  very  hard  at  school,  and  always  held 
a  good  position  in  my  class,  being  generally  top  of  it. 
In  those  pre-Intermediate  days  our  studies  were 
almost  exclusively  classical.  Richard  O'Shaughnessy 
and  I  were  the  leaders  of  the  Rlietoric  class.  The 
rivalry  between  us  became  so  intense  that  in  the 
summer  mornings,  though  still  in  bed,  we  would  lie 
waiting  with  open  shutters  for  the  first  streak  of 
dawn,  so  that  we  might  prepare  our  work  for  the 


SCHOOLDAYS  9 

examinations.  After  a  close  struggle,  I  carried  off 
the  examination  prize.  My  conduct  on  the  whole 
was  good,  although  I  was  once  the  ringleader  in  a 
"  barring  out."  One  morning  my  class,  headed  by 
me,  decided  to  have  a  "  barring  out."  Properly 
speaking,  it  was  the  locking  in  of  ourselves,  and  a 
"  barring  out "  of  the  "  prefects  "  and  other  un- 
desirables. The  great  pleasure  lay  in  kicking  up  a 
row,  and  in  giving  a  display  of  pluck  before  the  house. 
The  time  selected  was  the  hour  for  the  mathematical 
class.*  Mathematics  had  no  charm  for  me,  nor, 
indeed,  for  the  majority  of  the  class.  A  general 
strike  was  proclaimed,  and  there  was  a  cry  of  "  Down 
with  mathematics  ! "  and  much  cheering  and  up- 
roarious defiance  of  law  and  order.  The  master  in- 
voked the  aid  of  the  "  Higher  Line  Prefect,"  who 
summoned  the  rioters  to  open  the  door.  Dead 
silence  reigned  among  the  boys,  inasmuch  as  they 
were  afraid  lest  their  voices  might  be  recognized, 
and  we  were  in  dire  fear  of  the  prefect.    Once  more 

*  That  distinguished  Jesuit,  Father  Delany,  when  speaking  of 
my  father,  told  me  the  following  little  anecdote:  "  It  became  my 
duty,"  said  Father  Delany,  "  in  July,  1858,  to  examine  the  second 
Mathematical  Class  of  some  fourteen  students.  The  papers  I  had 
set  were  easy ;  but  of  the  fourteen  not  more  than  three  attempted 
to  do  the  simplest  proposition.  The  others  handed  in  blank 
papers,  except  O'Brien.  He,  too,  did  not  attempt  any  of  the 
propositions,  but  wrote  a  really  clever  essay  on  the  educational 
value  of  the  study  of  mathematics  if  only  one  had  a  taste  far  them. 
This  was  characteristic  of  the  boy.  Mature  beyond  his  years, 
he  was  very  self-possessed,  with  the  bump  of  reverence  only 
moderately  developed;  but  genial  and  pleasant,  and  ready  of 
repartee. ' ' — Editor. 


10     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

he  summoned  us  to  surrender.  There  was  no  re- 
sponse, whereupon  he  sent  for  the  house  carpenter, 
who  knocked  in  the  panel  of  the  door  w^ith  two  or 
three  sturdy  blows.  We  had  to  capitulate,  and  had 
to  walk  out  in  single  file,  blessing  our  luck  that  nothing 
worse  lay  in  store  for  us. 

In  my  schooldays  a  favourite  amusement  of  mine 
was  known  as  "  bringing  out  the  hounds."  This  pas- 
time usually  took  place  in  the  General  Study  Room, 
when  the  boys  were  preparing  their  work  for  next 
day,  and  when  silence  was  imperative.  The  Prefect 
of  Discipline  was  near-sighted.  One  of  my  class- 
fellows  used  to  start  giving  tongue  like  a  fox-hound 
from  one  end  of  the  study.  I  also  gave  tongue,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  there  was  a  capital  reproduction  of 
hounds  in  full  cry.  As  no  boy  stirred  from  his  seat, 
it  was  impossible  for  the  Prefect  of  Discipline  to 
distinguish  those  who  gave  tongue  and  those  who 
did  not. 

I  was  the  recipient  of  many  prizes  when  at  school, 
and  in  1858  received  the  Clongowes  Medal.  I  had  a 
love  for  the  Latin  classics,  and  construed  Latin  and 
Greek  verse  very  fairly.  Though  never  a  great 
reader,  I  delighted  in  Shakespeare's  plays,  and  had 
a  liking  for  poetry,  especially  for  that  of  Byron.  Sir 
Walter  Scott  was  my  favourite  author,  and  is  to  this 
day.  I  shall  never  forget  the  pleasure  with  which  I 
read  "  Ivanhoe."  I  know  it  is  the  fashion  nowadays 
to  decry  the  Waverley  Novels  as  too  romantic  and 
demode,  but,  surely,  no  other  historical  novel  gives 
such  a  vivid  and  incomparable  picture  of  the  feudal 


SCHOOLDAYS  11 

times.  Though  fully  aware  of  my  literary  short- 
comings, which  I  confessed  to  Mr.  Arnold  before 
commencing  my  autobiography,  I  maintain  that  there 
never  was,  and  never  will  be,  a  novel  to  equal  "  Ivan- 
hoe."  I  liked  books  which  deal  with  adventures,  and 
works  that  appeal  to  the  imagination.  I  thoroughly 
enjoyed  the  writings  of  Dumas  Pere,  and  still  re- 
member being  thrilled  by  Mrs.  Radcliffe's  "  Mysteries 
of  Udolpho,"  which  I  read  as  a  schoolboy  during  my 
vacation.  I  sat  up  at  night  for  hours  reading  it  in 
solitude  by  the  light  of  a  solitary  candle.  Profound 
silence  reigned  around  me — the  silence  of  night — 
when,  all  of  a  sudden,  I  distinctly  heard  a  noise  in 
my  room.  There  could  be  no  mistake.  Up  to  that 
moment  I  had  never  believed  in  ghosts,  but  then  felt 
firmly  convinced  that  I  was  about  to  see  one.  The 
noise  came  again,  loud,  and  more  insistent.  I  hardly 
dared  look  round,  fearing  some  ghostly  manifestation. 
The  candle  was  guttering  and  flickering  before  I 
summoned  courage  to  turn  my  head.  I  glanced 
around  the  room,  but  there  was  nothing  unusual  to 
be  seen;  still  the  sound  came  apparently  from  the 
direction  of  the  mantelpiece.  It  was  so  loud  that  I 
seized  the  candle,  and,  going  to  the  place  whence  it 
proceeded,  heard  a  croak.  In  another  moment  a  huge 
jackdaw  flopped  down  the  chimney  from  its  nest  at 
the  top.  It  was  much  bewildered  and  surprised  by 
its  strange  surroundings,  and  was,  apparently,  as 
frightened  as  I  had  been  before  its  advent.  I  suppose 
it  would  be  an  Irish  bull  to  say  that  this  was  my  one 
encounter  with  a  ghost. 


CHAPTER  II 

TRINITY    COLLEGE — CALLED   TO   THE    BAR — HARRIERS — MY 
FIRST  PUNCHESTOWN — MY    FIRST   CASE 

In  1855  I  was  shocked  by  the  sudden  news  of 
my  father's  death.  The  day  before,  in  his  usual 
health  and  good  spirits,  he  had  started  for  London 
on  Parliamentary  duty.  When  he  reached  Dublin 
he  had  some  sort  of  seizure  from  which  he  never 
rallied.     He  died  at  the  Shelbourne  Hotel. 

After  his  death  my  mother  moved  to  Dublin  with 
us.  My  two  eldest  brothers  were  grown  up  at  the 
time.  I  entered  Trinity  College  with  the  view  of  being 
called  to  the  Bar.  My  career  at  College  was  not,  I 
regret  to  say,  a  very  distinguished  one,  nor  was  I 
conspicuous  as  a  strenuous  worker.  I  had  rooms  in 
that  section  of  the  College  known  as  Botany  Bay, 
where,  I  believe,  I  gave  very  pleasant  parties.  I 
remember  one  especially,  a  musical  party.     My  dear 

friend  M (now  a  saint,  and  one  of  London's  most 

distinguished  preachers,  then  a  gay  young  man  about 
town),  having  dined  not  wisely  but  too  well,  took 
possession  of  the  piano  and  strummed  upon  it  until 
we  could  stand  it  no  longer.     He  fancied  himself  as 

12 


TRINITY  COLLEGE  13 

a  musician  in  those  days,  and  I  believe  he  is  still 
musical.  When  we  asked  him  to  abstain  from  playing, 
he  determinedly  sat  upon  the  instrument,  and  it  was 
with  great  difficulty  that  we  were  at  last  able  to  evict 
him. 

When  I  was  at  Trinity,  Dr.  Salmon  was  Lecturer  in 
Mathematics.  Years  afterwards  he  was  Provost.  He 
was  most  gifted,  but  his  abnormal  absent-mindedness 
gave  rise  to  many  good  stories  at  his  expense.  I 
remember  being  told  that  on  one  occasion  when  he 
was  out  walking,  he  knocked  against  a  cow  on  its  way 
to  the  butcher.  Deeply  absorbed  in  some  intel- 
lectual problem,  he  took  the  cow  to  be  a  passer-by, 
and,  taking  off  his  hat,  apologized  to  it  most  elabo- 
rately, and  then  walked  on. 

On  another  occasion,  when  the  Provost  had  gone 
to  a  dinner-party,  his  faithful  servant  was  horrified 
to  find  his  master's  trousers  on  the  bed.  '*  Gracious 
goodness  !"  thought  he  ;  "  my  master  has  gone  to 
a  party  without  his  trousers."  The  man  seized 
the  garment,  and  rushed  into  the  street,  where 
he  overtook  the  Provost,  looking  quite  spick-and- 
span  and  almost  fashionable  in  a  new  pair  of 
trousers  ! 

At  Trinity  Canon  Teignmouth  Shore  was  one  of 
my  grinders.  Only  a  few  years  ago  I  chanced  to 
meet  him  again,  and  spent  a  pleasant  day  with  him  at 
Worcester,  where  he  showed  me  over  his  beloved 
Cathedral.  When  I  left  Trinity  College  I  had  had 
an  auction  of  all  my  things,  and  went  to  London  to 


14     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

"  eat  my  dinners."  In  London  I  spent  money  nobly 
— in  fact,  so  munificently  that  I  was  soon  penniless, 
and  probably  would  have  been  there  to  this  day  had 
I  not  possessed  a  valuable  edition  of  Johnson's  dic- 
tionary, which  I  sold.  The  money  it  realized  helped 
to  pay  my  return  fare  to  Ireland. 

Dublin  was  very  gay  in  those  days.  My  sisters 
and  I  went  to  balls,  dances,  and  parties  at  the  Castle, 
but  I  was  obliged  to  retire  from  Court  life  owing  to 
the  loss  of  my  Court  suit.  It  had  belonged  to  my 
eldest  brother,  then  to  my  second  and  third,  and 
eventually  was  handed  down  to  me  rather  the  worse 
for  wear.  It  disappeared,  having  been  stolen  by  a 
servant.  Its  loss  necessitated  my  withdrawal  from 
Viceregal  circles  for  a  time.  Some  years  after  its 
disappearance,  as  I  was  walking  down  Dame  Street, 
when  a  levee  was  being  held  at  the  Castle,  a  rickety 
cab  collapsed  just  in  front  of  me,  and  a  gentleman  in 
a  full  Court  suit  was  deposited  on  the  pavement 
bruised  and  looking  very  doleful.  I  condoled  with 
him  on  his  accident,  and,  as  I  did  so,  was  surprised 
to  perceive  that  he  was  wearing  my  ci-devant  Court 
suit.  In  the  course  of  conversation  I  asked  him  what 
tailor  had  been  responsible  for  his  suit.  He  told 
me  that  he  had  bought  it  from  a  servant-man,  who 
said  that  it  was  given  to  him  by  his  former  master, 
who  had  no  further  use  for  it.  There  could  be  no 
mistake  about  the  suit,  as  I  recognized  certain  well- 
known  patches. 

I  was  called  to  the  Bar  in  1865.     I  read  with  that 


CALLED  TO  THE  BAR  L5 

great  Judge  and  lawyer,  Chief  Baron  Palles,*  to  whom 
I  always  say  I  am  indebted  for  any  knowledge  of 
law  I  possess.     For  six  months  after  I  was  called  to 
the  Bar  I  gave  no  attention  to  work;  not  that  I  was 
lazy  or  an  idler,  but  I  was  fond  of  pleasure  and  ener- 
getic in  its  pursuit.     In  those  days  I  had  a  passion 
for  hunting  which  much  interfered  with  my  work. 
It  was  far  pleasanter  to  be  at  my  brother's  place  in 
Clare,  enjoying  the  fresh  breezes  from  the  Atlantic, 
than  to  be  in  a  stuffy  court-house,  hanging  about  on 
tJie  look-out  for  chance  clients,  or  listening  to  other 
people's  cases.     I  had  a  scratch  pack  of  harriers,  the 
keep  of  which  cost  me  nothing — they  were  boarded  out 
amongst  the  tenantry;  and  I  possessed  a  horse  called 
Chance,    the   most   trusty   of   hunters.     The   whole 
country-side  was  wont  to  come  out  hunting  with  me, 
even  the  schoolmaster  left  books  and  pupils  to  join 
the  chase.     He  was  an  excellent  sportsman;  I  only 
hope  he  was  an  equally  good  educationist.      Perhaps 
in  those  days  school  inspectors  were  less  scrupulous, 
or  less  keen,   than  now;   anyhow,   we   were   never 
troubled  by  informal  visits  from  them.     We  were  a 

*  The  Lord  Chief  Baron  always  regarded  my  father  as  a  youth, 
and  never  forgot  that  he  had  been  his  mentor,  when,  as  a  yomig 
barrister,  he  had  read  law  with  him. 

Oiie  day  they  sat  together  during  the  hearing  of  an  important 
case.  A  controversy  on  some  point  of  law  arose,  on  which  the 
opinion  of  the  Lord  Chief  Justice,  who  was  presiding,  difiered 
from  that  of  the  Lord  Chief  Baron,  and  the  latter  was  heard  to 
exclaim,  as  though  he  were  speaking  to  a  recalcitrant  schoolboy: 
"  Oh,  Peter,  Peter,  you  never  learned  that  from  me." — Editor. 


16     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIKN 

merry  party,  and  the  hillside  rang  with  the  sound  of 
my  hunting-horn.  I  used  to  impress  upon  the  keeper, 
Tom  Gardiner,  then  some  years  older  than  myself,  the 
necessity  of  preserving  hares,  now  I  threaten  to  put 
him  in  jail  should  the  hares  fail.  I  am  happy  to  say 
Tom  is  still  alive,  and  only  the  other  day  he  sent  me 
a  message  to  say  that  he  had  "  plenty  of  hares  for 
me;  would  I  come  and  hunt  them  ?"  Alas  !  my 
hunting  days  are  over,  and  for  me  "  there  has  faded 
a  glory  from  the  earth."  Tom  Gardiner  is  endowed 
with  all  the  vivid  imagination  of  the  Celt,  and  is 
the  most  entertaining  of  story-tellers.  With  what 
delight  Lady  Gregory  and  Mr.  Yeats  would  have 
listened  to  him  !  Tom  was  intimately  acquainted 
with  the  fairies,  and  had  seen  mermaids  with  emerald- 
coloured  eyes  and  long  hair,  for  "  all  the  world  like 
say-weed,"  who  had  endeavoured  to  put  a  "  spell  on  " 
him  and  draw  him  under  the  waves  in  spite  of  himself; 
but  Tom  was  obdurate  to  all  blandishments,  and  was 
not  to  be  cajoled  even  by  "  the  Queen  of  the  Mer- 
maids herself,"  who,  he  gave  me  to  understand,  had 
endeavoured  to  fascinate  him.  He  took  no  little 
pride  in  having  resisted  her  baneful  influence.  We 
all  delighted  in  his  stories,  and  this  the  rogue  knew. 
As  I  write,  I  seem  to  see  his  shrewd  Irish  eyes  fixed 
on  my  face,  observing  me  closely,  as  he  related  some 
of  his  thrilhng  experiences  most  dramatically,  won- 
dering, I  suppose,  how  far  I  was  guUible.  So  vivid 
were  his  descriptions  of  "  witch  hares  "  and  strange 
foxes,  that,  when  I  was  listening  to  him,  I  am  not 


MY  FIEST  PUNCHESTOWN  17 

certain  that  I  myself  did  not  believe  in  magic  and 
fairies. 

How  happy  I  was  in  Clare,  and  how  I  loved  the 
wild  Burren  country,  and  the  thunderous  sound  of 
the  Atlantic,  as  the  waves  rolled  against  the  cliffs  ! 
I  recollect  one  most  exciting  hunt,  when  a  hare,  having 
given  us  quite  a  brisk  run,  made  for  the  clifis  of  Moher, 
and,  closely  pursued  by  the  hounds,  bounded  into 
the  Atlantic.  It  was  with  great  difficulty  I  managed 
to  call  off  my  hounds.  On  another  occasion  my 
horse,  Chance,  floundered  into  a  bog,  and,  but  that 
he  extricated  himself  by  what  seemed  nothing  short 
of  a  miracle,  the  Queen's  Bench  would  never  have 
known  me. 

How  well    I   remember    my    first    Punchestown, 
which  took  place  not  long  after  I  had  been  called 
to  the  Bar  !     I  had  made   no  arrangements  to  go, 
and,  all  of  a  sudden,  on  the  very   morning  of  the 
races,  it  flashed  upon  me  that  they  were  to  take  place 
that  day.     I  wanted  very  much  to  go,  as  did  my 
friend,  Sam  Walker,  afterwards  Lord  Chancellor  of 
Ireland.     John  Naish  also  expressed  willingness  to 
accompany  us.     But  how  were  we  to  get  to  Punches- 
town  ?     That  was  the  question.     Special  trains  did 
not  run  so  frequently  in  those  days,  and  they  were  all 
gone  before  we  bethought  ourselves  of  the  races.    All 
the  jarvey  cars  had  either  started  or  were  bespoken. 
We  betook  ourselves  to  a  livery  stable,  where  we 
endeavoured  to  secure  a  conveyance.     Everything 
on  wheels  seemed   to  be  en  route  to  Punchestown. 

2 


18     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

The  only  vehicle  on  the  premises  was  a  hearse,  but 
we  were  not  to  be  beaten,  and  hired  it.     We  were 
joined  by  another  friend,  whom  I  did  not  meet  again 
until  he  had  become  a  Field-Marshal,  many,  many 
years  afterwards.    Drawn  by  two  long-tailed,  fune- 
real, doleful  animals,  we  drove  on  to  the  course,  where 
we  were  applauded  by  the  crowd.    Perhaps  those 
sorry-looking  steeds  would  have  presented  a  more 
spanking  appearance  had  they  known  that,  of  the 
four  occupants  of  the  hearse,  two  would  become  Lord 
Chancellors,  another  would  one  day  be  a  Field-Mar- 
shal, and  the  other  a  Chief  Justice  !     I  believe  I  won 
a  little  money  on  the  races,  which  I  think  I  deserved, 
having  surmounted  so  many  difficulties  to  get  to  the 
meeting.    My  sporting  proclivities  were  viewed  by 
my  family  with  dismay;  they  feared  I  should  never 
work,  and,  indeed,  I  might  never  have  done  so,  had 
I  not  met  my  wife,  to  whom  I  owe  all  my  success  in 
life.    When  I  proposed  to  her,  she  accepted  me  upon 
the  condition  that  I  should  set  to  work,  and  when 
I  was  getting  into  practice,  we   arranged  that  we 
were  to  marry.     I  now  applied  myself  to  my  profes- 
sion, attended  Quarter  Sessions,  and  hung  around  the 
assize  court,  hoping  to  get  briefed.    Life  is  a  hard 
struggle  for  a  young  barrister,  and  especially  hard 
for  those  who  have  no  connection  among  solicitors. 
Many  of  my  fellow-barristers  were  sons  of  wealthy 
solicitors,  who  took  care  that  their  sons  should  be 
well  provided  with  briefs. 
I  had  joined  the  Munster  circuit.     One  day  my 


MY  FIRST  CASE  19 

opportunity  came  at  the  Cork  Assizes,  over  which 
Judge  Fitzgerald,  afterwards  Lord  Fitzgerald,  was 
presiding.  A  soldier  was  being  tried  for  some  offence, 
and  the  counsel  for  the  defence  had  been  taken  ill, 
if  I  remember  rightly;  at  any  rate,  he  failed  to  put 
in  an  appearance.  "  Is  there  no  one  here  to  defend 
the  prisoner  ?"  asked  the  Judge;  and  then  his  glance 
fell  on  me,  and  he  said :  "  Mr.  O'Brien,  will  you  under- 
take this  man's  defence  ?"  I  gave  a  nervous,  but 
delighted,  assent,  rose  to  my  feet,  overwhelmed  with 
confusion,  and  when  I  began  to  address  the  jury,  in 
my  embarrassment  I  did  so  from  the  back  benches 
of  the  court.  Loud  tittering  brought  me  to  myself, 
and  I  stumbled  into  my  proper  place.  Once  fairly 
started,  I  lost  my  self-consciousness,  and  must  have 
acquitted  myself  well,  for  when  the  case  had  concluded. 
Judge  Fitzgerald  congratulated  me  in  the  most  flat- 
tering terms  on  the  manner  in  which  I  had  conducted 
the  defence.  From  that  day  I  steadily  got  into  prac- 
tice. 


CHAPTER  III 

EARLY   STRUGGLES — A   BREACH   OF   PROMISE — ISAAC   BUTT — 
JUDGE    KEOGH — THE    MUNSTER    CIRCUIT 

Shortly  after  I  was  called  to  the  Bar  I  was  appointed 
registrar  to  my  uncle,  James  O'Brien,  one  of  the 
Judges  in  the  Court  of  Queen's  Bench.  He  was  often 
confused  with  the  late  Judge  William  O'Brien,  though 
they  were  not  even  remotely  related.  After  my 
father's  death  my  uncle  represented  Limerick  in 
Parliament  until  he  was  raised  to  the  Bench.  I  did 
not,  however,  remain  his  registrar  for  any  length  of 
time,  as  I  found  the  duties  attached  to  the  registrar- 
ship  interfered  with  my  professional  work.  When  I 
had  been  at  the  Bar  for  about  four  years  I  married, 
with  little  to  begin  married  life  upon,  save  courage 
and  an  invincible  optimism.  I  worked  valiantly, 
rising  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  getting 
through  much  work  before  breakfast.  All  my  life  I 
have  found  the  morning  the  best  time  for  work, 
though,  of  course,  I  have  had  frequently  to  sit  up 
late  in  consultation.  How  delighted  I  was  in  those 
days  to  make  a  few  guineas  on  a  brief !  These  small 
fees  gave  me  far  greater  pleasure  than  the  large  sums 
I  afterwards  received,  when  success  was  achieved. 
I  think  most  young  barristers  experience  great  plea- 

20 


A  BEEACH  OF  PROMISE  21 

sure  when  they  receive  their  first  fees  (however  small), 
the  result  of  their  brain-work. 

I  remember  that  one  of  my  early  successes  was  in 
a  breach-of-promise  case.  A  farmer's  daughter  had 
been  badly  treated  by  a  man,  who,  having  been 
engaged  to  her  for  a  considerable  number  of  years, 
jilted  her  in  the  most  heartless  manner.  The  girl 
whom  he  had  so  cruelly  forsaken  had  been  engaged 
to  him  in  her  early  girlhood,  and  was  at  the  time  of 
the  action  past  her  premiere  jeunesse  ;  nevertheless, 
she  was  of  very  prepossessing  appearance.  She 
seemed  to  feel  her  position  keenly.  I  thought  that 
her  good  looks  would  be  likely  to  make  a  favourable 
impression  on  judge  and  jury,  and  told  her  solicitor 
to  advise  her  to  dress  nicely  on  the  day  she  gave  her 
evidence,  which  he  promised  to  do.  To  my  dismay, 
my  client  appeared  in  court  next  day  befeathered, 
with  touzled  hair,  and  dressed  in  an  exaggeration  of 
the  prevailing  fashion.  All  the  colours  of  the  rainbow 
seemed  to  have  merged  themselves  upon  her  person. 
"  Gracious  Heaven !"  I  whispered  to  her  solicitor, 
"  bring  her  out  of  court  and  get  her  to  alter  her  appear- 
ance as  much  as  possible.  Bid  her  wash  the  powder 
off  her  face;  remember  she  is  broken-hearted  !"  The 
soUcitor  acted  on  my  suggestion,  the  lady  left 
court  for  a  few  minutes,  and  returned  less  flamboyant 
in  appearance.  In  stating  the  case  to  the  jury  I 
expatiated  on  the  cruel  conduct  of  a  man,  capable  of 
throwing  over  a  girl  whose  best  years  had  been  con- 
secrated to  him,  and  for  whom  life  had  no  longer  any 


22     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

attractions.  My  address  drew  tears  from  some  of 
the  jurors,  and  I  actually  succeeded  in  getting  the 
damages  asked  for,  a  very  large  sum. 

During  my  early  days  at  the  Bar  I  was  counsel  in 
several  cases  with  Isaac  Butt  as  my  leader.  He  was 
most  eloquent,  and  I  found  him  most  likeable,  as  did 
everybody  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  I  was 
with  him  in  one  of  his  last  cases.  Poor  man  !  How 
weak  and  ill  he  was — almost  in  a  state  of  collapse  as 
he  tried  to  struggle  on  with  his  work  !  It  was  said 
that  Butt  died  of  a  broken  heart.  I  do  not  know 
whether  this  was  really  the  case,  but  doubtless  worry 
and  anxiety  hastened  his  end.  Butt,  the  most  dis- 
interested of  men,  was  deposed  for  Parnell,  and  died, 
as  did  Parnell,  forsaken  by  his  party. 

I  recollect  hearing  a  story  in  connection  with  a 
dinner-party  at  Butt's  house,  at  which  a  number  of 
people  were  dining,  amongst  others,  David  Plunkett, 
now  Lord  Rathmore.     There  was  also  a  man  who 

shall  be  nameless,  and  whom  I  shall  call  Y .     Butt 

rarely  drank  whisky,  but  would  sometimes  take  a 

glass  of  gin  in  preference.     Y ,  having  put  some 

whisky  into  his  glass,  proceeded  to  add  from  a  de- 
canter what  he  took  to  be  water,  but  which  was  gin. 
Having  nearly  filled  his  tumbler,  he  drank  it  off  with 
the  result  that,  ere  the  lapse  of  many  minutes,  he 
was  speechless.  After  a  time  he  recovered  his  senses, 
and,  turning  to  Butt,  said:  "  What  splendid  whisky 
you  have,  Butt !     Never  did  I  taste  its  equal." 

Judge  Keogh,  one  of  the  cleverest  men  that  ever 


JUDGE  KEOGH  23 

sat  upon  the  Irish  Bench,  was  of  somewhat  arbitrary 
temper.     Once  he  and  I  had  a  passage  of  arms.* 

*  I  am  indebted  to  an  eyewitness,  the  Eev.  Mr.  Pearson, 
for  an  interesting  account  of  the  scene,  which  he  describes 
thus:  "  Late  in  the  day  Judge  Keogh  was  charging  the  jury:  the 
court  was  crowded  with  all  the  leading  citizens  of  Cork,  and 
excitement  ran  very  high.  Judge  Keogh  was  giving  the  jury  a 
definition  of  the  law  of  conspiracy,  when  Mr.  O'Brien  stood  up 
and  said:  '  Respectfully,  my  lord,  I  would  ask  your  lordship  to 
put  it  this  way  to  the  jury,'  mentioning  another  legal  definition. 
Judge  Keogh  turned  round  angrily  and  said :  '  Mr.  O'Brien, 
resume  your  seat,  and  if  you  stand  up  again  I  shall  have  you 
removed  from  court.'  (I  may  say  Mr.  O'Brien  had  not  previously 
said  a  word  during  the  Judge's  charge.)  Mr.  O'Brien  did  resume 
his  seat,  and  waited  imtil  the  Judge  had  finished  his  charge 
and  the  jury  had  retired ;  he  then  said :  '  My  lord,  when  your 
lordship  was  defining  the  law  of  conspiracy,  in  the  excitement  of 
the  moment  I  rose  to  suggest  an  alternative  definition;  I  did  so 
most  respectfully.  Doubtless  I  was  a  little  irregular  in  not 
waiting  until  the  jury  had  retired,  but  your  lordship  said  if  I  did 
not  resume  my  seat,  you  would  have  me  removed  from  court.' 
Judge  Keogh:  'Yes,  certainly.'  Mr.  O'Brien:  'Well  my  lord, 
on  behalf  of  the  Munster  Bar,  I  strongly  protest  against  such 
language  being  addressed  to  any  member.  If  such  language  can  be 
used  by  the  Bench,  we  may  say  farewell  to  the  freedom  of  the  Bar.' 

"  The  hour  being  then  about  7  p.m.,  the  Judge  said  he  would 
go  to  dinner  and  return  at  9  o'clock,  to  take  the  verdict  of  the 

jury. 

"  I  came  back  rather  early,  and  was  fortunate  enough  to  get 
my  old  seat  directly  behind  Mr.  O'Brien;  sitting  next  to  him  was 
the  late  Mr.  Justice  Wright.  When  9  o'clock  came,  the  court 
was  so  crowded  that  we  all  felt  certain  Judge  Keogh  would  be 
in  a  towering  rage  and  have  us  all  removed  this  time.  There 
seemed  to  be  no  check  (as  indeed  there  was  not)  on  the  crowd 
coming  in  and  filling  up  every  passage.  9.30  came  and  10  o'clock, 
and  still  no  Judge.  It  was  fully  10.30  when  he  came  on  the 
Bench,  and  the  Sheriff  started  to  call  out  the  jury.     '  Wait  a 


24     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

The  encounter  occurred  at  the  Cork  Assizes  as  far 
back  as  the  year  1877.     A  man  named  Humphreys, 
who  had  held  the  position  of  City  Treasurer,  was 
accused  of  having  formed  a  conspiracy  to  defraud 
the  late  Sir  John  Arnott,  whom  he  had  joined  in  a 
business  transaction.      The  whole  issue  of  the  case 
depended  on  the  jury  having  a  clear  understanding 
as  to  what  constituted  a  conspiracy.     I  had  argued 
that  one  person  could  not  form  a  conspiracy,  and  that 
there  was  no  evidence  to  show  that  the  accused  had 
conspired    with    any    named   person.     When    Judge 
Keogh  was  giving  a  definition  of  the  law  of  conspiracy, 
I  rose  and  said:  "  Respectfully,  my  lord,  I  ask  you 
to  put  it  in  this  way,"  and  proceeded  to  briefly  out- 
line the  law  of  conspiracy.     Keogh  grew  heated,  and 
threatened  to  have  me  removed  from  court  if  I  did 
not  sit  down.     When  he  had  finished  speaking,  I  rose 
and  said:   **  My  lord,  you  threatened  to  have  me 
removed.     If  such  language  can  be  used  from  the 
Bench,  then  farewell  to  the  independence  of  the  Irish 
Bar." 


moment,'  said  Judge  Keogh,  and  then  turning  to  Mr.  O'Brien,  lie 
said:  '  Mr.  O'Brien,  I  said  something  to  you  this  evening  which  I 
regret,  and  you  resented,  very  properly.  I  fully  withdraw  it ;  that 
statement  was  made  in  the  presence  of  a  crowded  court,  and  so  I 
sent  word  that  the  doors  of  the  court  should  be  open,  so  that  as 
many  might  be  present  while  I  withdraw  those  words  as  wore  here 
when  I  uttered  them.'  And  then,  for  the  first  time,  I  should 
say,  in  his  experience  as  a  Judge,  he  was  cheered  to  the  echo. 
But  the  cheering  was  even  greater  when  the  popular  Peter  O'Brien 
(the  name  we  all  loved  to  call  him  by)  rose  to  make  a  suitable 
acknowledgment. ' ' — Editor. 


JUDGE  KEOGH  25 

During  the  remainder  of  the  day  the  incident 
weighed  heavily  on  my  mind.  I  had  a  personal  re- 
gard for  Judge  Keogh,  and  was  also  fully  conscious 
of  the  fact  that  it  was  a  serious  matter  for  a  junior 
barrister  to  speak  as  I  had  done.  The  court  sat  very 
late  that  night.  Before  it  rose  Keogh,  who  was  a 
big  man,  sent  for  me.  "  Mr.  O'Brien,"  he  said,  "  I 
must  apologize  to  you.  I  was  wrong  in  using  the 
threat  that  I  did." 

There  and  then  in  open  court  he  made  an  amende 
honorable,  which  did  him  infinite  credit.  Ever  after 
this  encounter  he  was  most  friendly  to  me. 

Rumour  had  it  that  Keogh  was  hard  up.  This  was 
probably  untrue,  although  his  hospitality  was  pro- 
verbial. 

On  one  occasion  when  Keogh  was  dining  with  Lord 
Fitzgerald,  one  of  the  host's  little  daughters  made  her 
appearance  at  dessert,  and  was  told  by  her  father  to 
shake  hands  with  Judge  Keogh.  To  the  surprise  of 
all  present,  the  child  resolutely  refused  to  do  as  she 
was  bidden,  and  put  her  hands  behind  her  back. 
"  Why  won't  you  shake  hands  with  me,  my  dear  ?" 
Keogh  asked.  "  Because  I  heard  papa  say  that  you 
are  always  pulling  the  devil  by  the  tail,"  the  enfant 
terrible  replied  ! 

I  have  many  pleasant  recollections  in  connection 
with  the  Munster  circuit — recollections  of  good  stories 
and  good  company.  Tom  de  Moleyns,  subsequently 
a  County  Court  Judge,  was  at  one  time  father  of  the 
Munster  Bar.     His  was  a  charming  personality.     He 


26     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

enjoyed  an  immense  and  deserved  popularity,  was 
courteous  and  affable,  and  possessed  a  fund  of  anec- 
dote. 

I  remember  de  Moleyns  telling  me  that  journeying 
in  France  lie  found  himself  in  a  railway-carriage  with 
a  very  beautiful  young  girl,  accompanied  by  a  nun 
who  was  evidently  acting  as  duenna.  De  Moleyns, 
who  was  much  struck  by  the  young  lady's  appearance, 
cudgelled  his  brains  as  to  how  to  get  into  conversation 
with  her.  At  last  an  opportunity  arose.  The  nun 
endeavoured  ineffectually  to  open  a  window  of  the 
carriage.  De  Moleyns  eagerly  proffered  his  assis- 
tance. The  nun  thanked  him  in  broken  English. 
The  wily  de  Moleyns  drew  himself  up  indignantly, 
and  said  in  his  best  French  that  he  was  not  English, 
but  Irlandais.  "  Irlandais  et  Catholique  !"  exclaimed 
the  nun  delightedly.  De  Moleyns,  who  was  not 
"  Catholique,"  and  was  like  St.  Paul  in  being  all 
things  to  all  men,  did  not  consider  it  necessary  to 
make  a  confession  of  faith  at  that  moment.  The  ice 
once  broken,  the  long  journey  was  very  pleasantly 
beguiled  for  him  by  the  conversation  of  the  two  charm- 
ing ladies. 

Very  different  from  the  courteous  de  Moleyns,  but 
an  excellent  fellow  also,  and  a  member  of  my  circuit, 
was  Daniel  O'Riordan,  generally  known  as  the  Con- 
veyancer, because  at  one  time  of  his  life  he  was  the 
driver  of  a  car  between  Macroom  and  Cork.  Such 
is  the  republican  spirit  of  the  Bar  ! 

O'Riordan  was  a  most  enthusiastic  card-player,  and 


THE  MUNSTER  CIRCUIT  27 

after  the  Bar  mess  it  was  his  custom  to  indulge  in  a 
game  of  whist.  He  had  a  luxuriant  growth  of  curly 
hair,  and  one  night,  when  intent  on  the  game,  leant 
so  close  to  the  candles  on  the  card-table  that  in  one 
second  his  hyacinthine  locks  had  caught  fire.  The 
other  players  were  appalled,  but  not  so  my  friend 
O'Riordan,  who,  not  in  the  least  perturbed,  pressed  his 
hand  to  his  hair  and  extinguished  the  flame,  saying, 
at  the  same  time:  "Never  mind  the  conflagration, 
boys;  go  on  with  the  game." 


CHAPTER  IV 

I  CONTEST  CLARE — THE  QUEEN  V.    PARNELL 

On  the  death  of  Sir  Colman  O'Loghlen  in  1879,  I 
contested  Clare  in  the  Liberal  interest.  The  other 
candidates  were  The  O'Gorman  Mahon  and  Captain 
Hector  Vandeleur,  whose  father,  Colonel  Vandeleur, 
of  Kilrush,  a  Conservative,  had  represented  the  county 
for  many  years.  The  veteran  O'Gorman  Mahon 
came  forward  as  a  Home  Ruler.  Though  he  lived 
almost  entirely  abroad,  he  was,  nevertheless,  popular 
in  the  county,  inasmuch  as  he  had  many  years  before 
supported  O'Connell  when  he  contested  Clare.  The 
Freemmi's  Journal  (the  Home  Rule  organ),  when 
referring  to  the  impending  election,  published  the 
following  passage:  "The  nomination  for  Clare  took 
place  yesterday.  The  three  candidates  proposed  and 
received  by  the  Sherif!  are — The  O'Gorman  Mahon, 
Captain  Hector  Vandeleur,  and  Mr.  Peter  O'Brien. 
They  are  all  equal  in  one  respect — they  are  all  Clare 
men.  The  first-named  is  a  veteran,  better  known 
in  Paris  than  in  London,  yet  popular  on  his  native 
heath.  The  name  of  O'Brien  it  is  unnecessary  to  do 
more  than  mention  in  Clare.  Connected  with  all  the 
glories  of  the  country,  it  is  particularly  knit  into  the 
everyday  life  of  the  county  of  its  birth  and  its  dwelling- 

28 


THE  QUEEN  v.  PARNELL  29 

place.  Mr.  O'Brien  is  in  favour  of  *  Tenant  Right 
and  Catholic  Education  Right.'  "  The  article  went 
on  to  predict  that,  were  I  to  declare  myself  in  favour 
of  Home  Rule,  I  would  have  a  great  chance  of  success. 
At  a  meeting  held  at  Kilfenora,  many  declared  them- 
selves personally  favourable  to  me,  and  at  this  meet- 
ing it  was  suggested  that  I  should  be  given  time  to 
alter  (''  amend  "  was  the  word  used)  that  portion 
of  my  address  which  dealt  with  Home  Rule.  My 
address  remained  unchanged,  and,  at  the  close  of  the 
Poll,  The  O'Gorman  Mahon  stood  at  the  top  by  a 
substantial  majority. 

I  took  silk  in  1880.  The  same  year  a  State  pro- 
secution was  commenced  against  Mr.  Parnell  and 
others,  the  charge  being  one  of  seditious  conspiracy. 
I  was  entrusted  with  the  defence  of  Mr.  T.  D.  Sullivan 
(proprietor  of  The  Nation).  Mr.  Sullivan  had  always 
been  a  man  of  letters,  and  not  until  the  year  1879  had 
he  ever  appeared  upon  a  public  platform.  During 
this  trial,  known  as  the  Queen  v.  Parnell,  I  met  Mr. 
Parnell  in  consultation,  and  suggested  to  him  that 
the  Roman  Catholic  Bishops  should  be  called  upon 
to  give  evidence,  as  many  of  them  had  supported  him, 
either  by  their  presence  at  meetings  or  by  letters. 
But  Parnell,  who,  even  in  those  days,  had  little  affec- 
tion towards  the  Catholic  Church  (the  action  of  the 
Irish  Bishops  after  the  divorce  decree  effectually  split 
up  his  party),  said:  "Don't  produce  the  Bishops; 
they  would  hedge";  and  again  emphatically  re- 
peated: "Don't  produce  them;  they  would  be  sure 


30     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

to  hedge."    The  State  trial  extended  over  a  lengthy- 
period.     At  first  it  excited  much  interest,  and  the 
court  was  crowded  to  suffocation,  but  after  a  while 
people  wearied  of  it.     The  evidence  was  nearly  all 
documentary;  speeches  were  read  and  reread  over 
and    over    again.     Conspiracy    is    a    loosely-defined 
offence,  and  it  is  difficult  to  define  what  constitutes 
it.     This  I  pointed  out  to  the  jury,  and  told  them 
that  some  think  because  a  man  uses  an  expression 
here,  identical  with  an  expression  used  by  another 
man   there,    that   that   constitutes   conspiracy,    but 
that    conspiracy    was    not   coincidence    of    opinion. 
Alluding  to  the  many  speeches  read  in  court,  I  said 
that  all  these  speeches  clearly  showed  a  diversity  of 
opinion,  and  revolved  in  one  giddy  throng  of  hete- 
rogeneous confusion  and  contradiction.     I  submitted 
that,  therefore,  the  traversers  could  not  be  found 
guilty  unless  the  jury  was  satisfied  that  there  was  an 
agreement  between  two  or  more  of  them.     On  the 
twentieth  day  of  the  State  trial  of  the  Queen  v.  Parnell, 
the  foreman  of  the  jury  announced  the  result  in  these 
words:  "  We  are  unanimously  of  the  opinion  that 
we  cannot  agree";  and  thus  the  trial  ended. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   LAND   LEAGUE — MOONLIGHTERS 

The  year  1880  was  a  bad  year  for  Ireland.  Great 
poverty  and  misery  prevailed,  as  there  had  been 
three  bad  harvests  in  succession,  and  in  1879  the  Land 
League  was  formed.  At  first  the  League  attacked 
the  land  system,  not  the  landlords,  but,  after  a 
while,  it  outstepped  the  bounds  of  constitutional 
agitation,  and  sporadic  outbreaks  of  agrarian  crimes 
of  the  most  revolting  nature  took  place.  Landlords 
or  their  agents  were  shot  from  behind  hedges,  and 
at  night  armed  men  raided  the  country.  It  was 
found  all  but  impossible  to  bring  the  perpetrators  of 
such  crimes  to  justice.  Witnesses  were  afraid  to  come 
forward,  jurors  were  intimidated  by  threatening 
letters,  and  often  would  not  convict — a  very  serious 
state  of  affairs — perhaps  the  very  worst  evil  that 
can  befall  a  country,  inasmuch  as  our  civil  rights  and 
our  criminal  liabilities  are  dependent  upon  the  fairness 
of  the  common  jury.  When  concluding  the  Munster 
Assizes  in  the  year  1880,  Judge  Fitzgerald  assembled 
the  Grand  Jury,  and  told  them  that  he  felt  much 
disheartened  by  the  many  failures  of  justice  he  had 
witnessed  during  the  Assizes.  This  he  attributed  to 
external  influences  operating  upon  some  of  the  com- 

31 


32     EEMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

mon  jurors,  and  preventing  them  from  performing 
their  duties.  Even  during  the  Assizes,  while  the 
law  was  being  administered,  there  was  no  cessation 
of  crime.  The  Judge  himself  received  many  threaten- 
ing letters,  written  in  the  hope  of  intimidating  him. 
One  of  these,  exceptionally  vindictive  in  tone,  he 
read  from  the  Bench.  The  writer  swore  that  worms 
would  have  their  Christmas  dinner  off  the  Judge's 
bones  if  he  attempted  to  bring  convictions  against 
certain  prisoners.  Judge  Fitzgerald,  of  course,  treated 
these  letters  with  the  contempt  they  merited. 

The  close  of  the  year  1881  saw  me  Junior  Crown 
Prosecutor  for  Green  Street,  and  in  1883  I  was 
appointed  Senior  Crown  Prosecutor.  By  that  time 
crime  had  enormously  increased  in  the  South  of 
Ireland,  and  at  the  Winter  Assizes  the  criminal  calen- 
dar was  so  heavy  that  the  Assizes  did  not  conclude 
until  about  the  middle  of  January.  County  Cork 
especially  was  in  a  very  disturbed  state. 

A  band  of  ruffians,  with  "  Captain  Moonlight " 
at  their  head,  raided  the  country  almost  nightly, 
making  many  attacks  upon  farm-houses,  maim- 
ing cattle  and  committing  many  atrocities.  The 
marauders  disguised  themselves  by  blackening  their 
faces  and  wearing  false  whiskers.  A  man  named 
Council  was  at  last  arrested  in  connection  with  these 
midnight  raids;  he  immediately  turned  approver, 
saying  that  he  had  informed  because  he  thought  the 
police  would  not  have  arrested  him  had  not  one  of 
his  gang  given  information.     On  the  person  of  Council, 


MOONLIGHTERS  33 

when  searched,  many  incriminating  documents  were 
found,  appointing  raids  by  "  regimental  order  of 
Captain  Moonlight."  I  prosecuted  in  the  case  of 
Jeremiah  and  James  Twohey,  indicted,  among  other 
charges,  for  having  broken  into  the  house  of  a  Mrs. 
FitzGerald,  an  old  widow,  who  lived  at  the  foot  of 
Mushera  Mountain.  Her  husband  had  died  after  a 
previous  outrage.  Connell,  who  proved  to  be  no  less 
a  personage  than  Captain  Moonlight  himself,  appeared 
in  the  witness-box  to  give  evidence  for  the  Crown.  I 
said,  in  my  address  to  the  jury,  "  How  often  have  we 
seen  in  the  history  of  Ireland  approvers  come  forward 
to  expose  a  confederacy  in  which  they  themselves 
were  steeped  to  the  very  lips,  and  how  often  have  men 
been  convicted  on  their  evidence  !  The  evidence  of 
such  men  ought  to  speak  with  trumpet  tone  to  those 
unhappy  people  who  form  criminal  confederacies. 
Such  was  the  nature  of  the  confederacies  that  there 
was  no  security  for  criminals,  for  the  man  who  is  a 
criminal  to-day  may  be  an  approver  to-morrow." 

Concerning  the  evidence  of  approvers,  the  Judge 
points  out  to  the  jury  that  such  evidence  should  be 
corroborated.  In  the  case  of  the  Twoheys  a  dog  was, 
if  I  may  use  the  term  in  reference  to  an  animal,  the 
principal  witness  for  the  Crown.  Mrs.  FitzGerald 
became  terrified  on  seeing  a  band  of  armed  men 
invade  her  house,  and  failed  to  identify  the  invaders. 
She  was  struck  on  the  head  and  was  bleeding  from 
the  wound :  her  daughters,  who  were  roughly  handled, 
were  also  terrified  by  the  appalling  scene,  and  failed 


34     EEMINISCENCES  OF  LOED  O'BRIEN 

to  identify  any  of  the  miscreants,  wlio  were  all  dis- 
guised, save  the  Twoheys.  A  servant  in  Mrs.  Fitz- 
Gerald's  employment  said  in  his  evidence  that  the 
Twoheys  took  an  active  part  in  the  attack.  When 
the  raiders  had  left  Mrs.  FitzGerald's  house,  a 
strange  dog  was  found  about  the  place,  and  this 
dog,  "  Sam,"  was  proved  to  belong  to  James  Twohey. 
Connell  said  that  the  dog  had  followed  the  Moon- 
lighters to  Mrs.  FitzGerald's  house  on  the  night  of 
the  attack,  and  that  it  was  accidentally  left  behind. 
It  was  brought  to  the  police-station,  where  it  remained 
for  some  days,  but  no  one  came  to  claim  it.  Mr. 
Starkie,  subinspector,  and  the  late  Captain  Plunket* 
ascertained  to  whom  the  dog  belonged.  It  was  put 
into  a  bag  and  taken  near  the  house  of  the  Twoheys, 
where  it  was  set  free.  Captain  Plunket  and  Mr. 
Starkie  watched  ;  the  dog  made  straight  for  the 
house.  Old  Mrs.  Twohey  affected  not  to  recognize 
it,  as  did  her  son  James,  though  it  manifested  much 
joy  at  seeing  them,  wagging  its  tail  and  putting 
back  its  ears.  When  the  pohce  tried  to  remove  it 
from  the  Twoheys,  it  would  not  leave;  it  evidently 
thought  there  was  no  place  like  home. 

Ammunition  was  found  concealed  on  the  premises, 
as  were  also  false  whiskers,  wigs,  and  various  dis- 
guises belonging  to  the  Moonlighters.  The  dog,  a 
most  intelligent  animal,  was  produced  in  court.  The 
jury  found  the  prisoners  guilty,  and  each  was  sen- 
tenced to  seven  years'  penal  servitude. 

*  The  Hon.  Thomas  Pluukett,  Resident  Magistrate  tor  Cork. 
— ^Editoe. 


CHAPTER  VI 

A   MURDER  TRIAL — STORMY   AND   STRENUOUS   DAYS — A   CLEVER 

IMPOSITION 

Another  sensational  trial  in  which  I  prosecuted  at 
these  Assizes  was  that  of  Sylvester  PofE  and  Thomas 
Barrett,  who  were  tried  a  second  time  for  the  murder 
of  Thomas  Brown,  a  farmer,  who  lived  near  Castle- 
island.     A  hard-working,  respectable  man,  Brown's 
sole  cause  of  ofience  was  that  he  purchased  some  land 
from  his  landlord.    The  murder,  a  most  brazen  and 
callous  one,  took  place  in  broad  daylight  in  a  field 
near  a  road,  and  was  actually  witnessed  by  some  boys 
coming  from  school.     Such  was  the  state  of  terrorism 
which  prevailed  in  the  district  that  the  assassins 
thought  they  had  no  cause  to  fear,  as  murder  was 
becoming  a  safe  crime  in  County  Cork.    The  school- 
boys saw  Brown  working  in  a  field.     He  was  ap- 
proached by  two  men,  who  beckoned  him,  as  if  they 
wished  to  tell   him  something.     The   boys   saw  the 
men  taljdng  to  Brown  as  if  they  were  admonishing 
him,  and  he  seemed  to  be  asking  pardon,  hat  in  hand. 
The  men  then  fired  three  shots  at  him;  he  rushed 
past  his  assassins  and  fell.     Two  more   shots  were 
discharged,  and  the  two  men  made  ofi. 
At  the  very  moment  of  the  murder  Brown's  wife 

35 


36     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

was  standing  only  a  few  yards  from  tlie  spot  where 
the  occurrence  took  place,  speaking  to  a  Mrs.  Bros- 
nan,    who    stated     that    when    she    saw    the   men 
she   felt   "  queer   and   frightful,"   and   immediately 
apprised   Mrs.  Brown   that   two    strangers  were  on 
Brown's  farm.     Mrs.  Brown  was  not  alarmed,  and 
remarked  that  they  were  probably  men  coming  from 
a  funeral;  but,  not  seeing  her  husband  wo:;king  in 
the  fields,  she  went  to  look  for  him,  and  found  him 
dead,  a  bullet  having  penetrated  his  brain.     When  in 
jail  awaiting  his  trial,  PofE  made  a  statement  to  the 
effect  that  on  the  day  of  the  murder,  he,  Barrett, 
and  a  man  named  Dunleary,  went  into  the  haggard 
of   Patrick    Fitzgerald,   and    while    there    Dunleary 
said  it  was  a  bad  place  to  be,  for  Brown  was  to  be 
shot  there  that  day.     The  men  to  whom  the  terrible 
announcement  was  made  never  went  to  give  a  word 
of  warning  to  save  the  unfortunate  man's  life.     As 
is  usual  in  Ireland  in  most  of  these  criminal  cases,  it 
was  said  that  the  murder  was  committed  by  "  stran- 
gers."    It  was  very  difficult  to  procure  evidence  for 
the  Crown  owing  to  an  appalling  state  of  demoraliza- 
tion.    It   was   of   paramount   importance   that   the 
assassins  of  Brown  should  be  brought  to  justice  if 
the  interests  of  justice  were  to  be  safeguarded. 

One  of  the  lads  who  had  witnessed  the  murder, 
said  he  could  not  recognize  the  assassins,  as  they 
were  muffled  and  wore  long  cloaks,  and  in  cross- 
examination  it  transpired  that  he  was  a  relative  of 
one  of  the  accused  men. 


A  MURDEE  TRIAL  37 

Mrs.  Brosnan  made  a  remarkable  statement  to  the 
effect  that  though  she  had  cautioned  Brown  to  be 
careful  of  himself,  as  she  had  seen  Barrett  watching 
his  movements,  she  gave  no  information  to  the  police. 
On  the  day  of  the  murder  she  had  met  Poff  and 
Barrett  in  the  vicinity  of  Brown's  farm.  At  the 
inquest  on  Brown  she  denied  having  seen  them.  In 
the  meantime  she  said  that  she  went  to  confession, 
and  confessed  to  have  made  a  false  statement  at  the 
inquest.  The  priest  told  her  that  she  could  not  again 
swear  what  was  false,  so  in  the  trial  she  told  the  truth. 
The  prisoners  were  very  ably  defended,  but  the 
Crown  evidence  against  them  was  strong. 

In  my  reply  on  behalf  of  the  Crown,  I  said :  "  The 
facts  of  the  case  are  too  unrelenting  and  too  im- 
placable even  for  the  eloquence  and  the  energy  of 
counsel  for  the  defence,  who  said  that  there  is 
nothing  in  the  antecedents  of  the  prisoners  to  induce 
the  jury  to  believe  that  they  would  commit  so  foul  a 
crime.  The  Crown  could  not  have  given  any  evidence 
as  to  their  antecedents  or  character — by  the  rule  of 
law  they  are  precluded  from  doing  so — but  the  pri- 
soners' counsel  (not  at  the  expense  of  the  prisoners, 
but  at  the  expense  of  the  Crown)  could,  under  the 
rules  of  the  Winter  Assizes  procedure,  have  called 
any  men  they  liked,  priests  and  doctors  who  were  in 
court,  and  have  asked  them  what  is  the  character  of 
these  men,  whose  lives  are  trembling  in  the  balance. 
Notwithstanding  that  it  was  the  privilege  of  my 
learned  friends  to   procure  evidence  as  to  the  char- 


38     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

acter  of  the  men,  none  was  produced,  perhaps  in  the 
exercise  of  a  very  wise  discretion.  What  character 
did  the  prisoners  give  of  themselves  ?  Upon  their 
own  showing,  what  did  they  know  and  what  did 
they  abstain  from  doing  ?  They  knew  that  Brown 
was  to  be  shot;  they  saw  him  in  Scartaglin  that 
day;  they  walked  by  Mrs.  Brosnan's  house  and 
close  to  the  house  of  Mrs.  Brown,  and  they  did  not 
tell  her  a  word — the  wife,  the  widow  !  They  saw 
Brown  in  Scartaglin,  and  they  gave  him  no  intima- 
tion of  his  coming  doom;  and  these  are  the  men  in 
whose  antecedents  there  is  nothing  to  lead  the  jury 
to  believe  that  they  are  anything  but  respectable  ? 
Again,  I  invite  the  attention  of  the  jury  to  the  ac- 
count which  the  prisoners  gave  of  themselves.  What 
brought  them  to  Fitzgerald's  house  that  day  ?" 
In  dealing  with  the  suggestion  that  strangers  had 
committed  the  crime,  I  pointed  out  that  in  Limerick, 
whenever  a  murder  was  committed,  the  murderers 
came  from  New  Pallas;  in  Clare,  when  a  murder  was 
committed,  they  came  over  the  Broadford  hills  from 
Tipperary;  and  when  a  murder  was  committed  in 
Kerry,  the  murderers  came  from  Castleisland ! 
"  And,"  I  added,  "  I  am  surprised  that  in  this  case 
counsel  did  not  describe  them  as  some  meteoric  visi- 
tants dropping  from  the  moon  !  What  brought  the 
prisoners  to  Pat  Fitzgerald's  that  morning  ? ' '  Having 
then  reviewed  the  evidence,  I  wound  up  by  saying: 
"  If  you  have  any  doubt,  as  reasonable  men,  let  the 
prisoners  go  free;  but,  if  you  have  no  reasonable 


STORMY  AND  STRENUOUS  DAYS    39 

doubt,  then  do  your  duty.  Let  not  the  assassins  of 
Thomas  Brown  go  scot-free  back  to  Castleisland  to 
what,  we  submit,  is  the  scene  of  their  slaughter  and 
their  crime.  The  blood  of  the  victim,  the  tears  of 
the  widow,  the  wail  of  the  orphans,  appeal  to  you; 
your  country  and  your  God  appeal  to  you;  the  prin- 
ciples of  our  common  Christianity  appeal  to  you,  to 
smite  with  the  sword  of  your  justice  these  monsters 
of  crime,  who  have  fed  upon  the  blood  of  your  country- 
men with  viperous  fang,  and  who  have  desolated  the 
once  happy  homes  of  our  native  land." 

The  jury,  after  half  an  hour's  deliberation,  returned 
a  verdict  of  guilty,  and  the  prisoners  were  sentenced 
to  death. 

From  the  time  that  I  was  appointed  Senior  Crown 
Prosecutor  at  Green  Street,  my  work  was  very  heavy, 
and  my  life  extremely  strenuous  and  stormy.  In  the 
long  vacation  we  generally  went  abroad,  and  amidst 
fresh  scenes  and  pastures  new,  I  desired  to  forget  law 
and  Irish  politics.  During  my  holidays  I  made  it  a 
rule  to  read  the  Irish  newspapers  as  little  as  possible. 
Occasionally,  when  a  few  days  were  at  my  disposal,  I 
would  pay  a  brief  visit  to  my  brother's  place  in  Clare. 
My  native  air  always  set  me  up  when  I  was  feeling 
overworked  or  run  down.  Once,  when  on  one  of 
these  short  visits  to  my  native  wilds,  I  was  the  victim 
of  an  imposition  which  was  not  without  an  element 
of  humour. 

One  day  we  were  told  that  two  nuns  had  called 
and  desired  an  interview  with  my  brother.     Tliis 


40     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

was  readily  granted,  and  the  two  nuns  were  ushered 
into  the  room.  One  was  tall  and  very  voluble,  the 
other  was  the  possessor  of  very  fine  eyes,  but  was 
silent  and  demure.  The  talkative  nun,  who  acted 
as  spokeswoman,  told  us  that  they  had  come  from 
America  to  this  country  on  a  begging  mission,  the 
object  of  which  was  to  collect  sufficient  money  to  build 
a  Catholic  church  in  some  wild  region  in  America, 
where  Catholics  had  no  place  of  worship.  The  tall 
nun  talked  so  earnestly,  and  with  apparently  so  much 
pious  zeal,  that  she  induced  my  brother  to  give  her 
a  large  donation  towards  the  building  of  the  projected 
church,  and  I  followed  his  example. 

She  thanked  us  profusely,  and  her  demure  com- 
panion shot  us  a  look  of  deep  gratitude  from  her  fine 
eyes.  The  spokeswoman  then  asked  if  she  might 
collect  among  the  servants.  Permission  was  readily 
granted,  and,  the  household  having  all  contributed 
according  to  their  means,  the  nuns  again  thanked  us 
and  departed.  They  appeared  in  church  on  the 
following  Sunday,  and  the  parish  priest  allowed 
a  collection  to  be  made  for  them  at  the  door.     Some 

weeks  later  I  met  Father  P ,  our  pastor,  and,  in 

the  course  of  conversation,  said  to  him:  "  Well,  what 
has  become  of  the  good  nuns  ?  Have  they  returned 
to  America  ?"  A  strange  and  rather  shamefaced 
expression  passed  over  his  countenance.  "  Haven't 
you  heard  ?"  he  said.  "  They  were  not  nuns;  they 
were  a  couple  of  skilled  impostors  going  through  the 
county  collecting  money.     They  were  man  and  wife. 


A  CLEVER  IMPOSITION  41 

The  smaller  and  slighter  was  the  man."  Poor 
Father  P felt  very  sore  at  having  been  so  success- 
fully imposed  upon,  and  whenever  I  wished  to  get 
the  better  of  him  in  any  political  argument  or  other- 
wise, I  had  only  to  say:  "  Well,  Father,  I  think  yoa 
are  mistaken.  We  are  all  liable  to  make  mistakes. 
Do  you  remember  how  you,  a  priest,  were  deceived 
by  those  soi-disant  nuns  ?"  After  which  remark,  our 
worthy  pastor  was  wont  to  lapse  into  gloomy  silence. 


CHAPTER  VII 

TRIAL   OF   FRANCIS   HYNES — "  PETER  THE   PACKER  " — A 
HUMOROUS   JARVEY 

In  August,  1882,  at  Green  Street  Court-house,  Francis 
Hynes  was  charged  with  the  murder  of  John 
Doloughty.  On  the  9th  of  August,  on  the  roadside 
at  Knockanane,  in  Clare,  Doloughty  was  found  in 
a  dying  condition.  He  had  had  a  dispute  about 
land  with  Francis  Hynes  some  time  before  the 
murder.  The  case  excited  much  interest,  as  Hynes 
was  far  superior  in  class  to  the  ordinary  criminal. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  professional  man.  A  con- 
stable named  Doyle,  on  hearing  that  Doloughty 
was  shot,  went  down  the  road  for  about  four 
miles  beyond  where  Doloughty  was  found,  and 
saw  Hynes  on  the  road.  When  he  was  asked 
what  brought  him  there,  he  said  he  had  come  for 
a  ramble.  "  How  long  have  you  been  here  ?"  the 
constable  asked.  "  A  couple  of  hours,"  Hynes 
replied.  The  constable  arrested  Hynes,  and,  on 
searching  liim,  found  in  his  pocket  a  package  of 
snipe  shot  which  corresponded  in  size  with  that 
which  was  afterwards  found  in  the  head  of  the  mur- 
dered man,  who,  before  he  expired,  said  several  times : 
"  It  was   Francy   Hynes  who  did  it."     Doloughty 

42 


TRIAL  OF  FRANCIS  HYNES  43 

was  shot  from  the  front,  and  therefore  must  have 
seen  his  assassin.  The  evidence  against  Hynes  was 
overwhelming,  and  the  sympathy  felt  for  him  was 
difficult  to  understand.  Doloughty  left  a  widow 
and  seven  children  unprovided  for,  and  James 
Murphy,*  in  his  forcible  reply  for  the  Crown, 
pointed  out  the  amazing  fact  that  no  sympathy  was 
felt  for  this  unfortunate  man.  Hynes  was  found 
guilty  and  sentenced  to  death.  The  verdict  was 
a  signal  for  an  outcry  in  the  Nationalist  Press,  as, 
indeed,  was  then  generally  the  case  when  any  verdict 
favourable  to  the  Crown  was  brought  in,  no  matter 
how  heinous  the  offence.  There  were  frequent  and 
systematic  attacks  on  jurors.  In  the  case  of  Hynes 
the  attack  was  of  a  very  shocking  nature,  and,  if 
conscientious  verdicts  were  to  be  obtained,  and 
jurors  protected,  if  could  not  be  passed  over.  An 
article  appeared  in  the  Freeman's  Journal  in  refer- 
ence to  this  case.  This  article  contained  an  attack 
upon  the  jury,  and  stated  that  the  jurors  were  under 
the  influence  of  drink  the  night  before  the  verdict 
was  given.  Mr.  Dwyer  Gray,  the  proprietor  of 
the  Freeman,  was  summoned  for  contempt  of  Court, 
and  was  ordered  to  pay  a  fine,  or  undergo  a  term  of 
imprisonment.    He  chose  the  latter  course. 

It  was  during  these  days  of  the  Land  League  that 

the   soubriquet   of   "  Peter   the   Packer "   was   first 

given  to  me.     In  the  South  of  Ireland  at  that  time, 

juries  were  intimidated  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was 

*  Mr.  James  Murphy,  Q.C.,  subsequently  a  Judge. 


44     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

impossible  to  obtain  conscientious  convictions.  I 
was  the  first  to  succeed  in  getting  a  jury  to  convict 
in  that  part  of  the  country,  and  this  success  won  for 
me  the  title  of  "  The  Packer."  I  certainly  eliminated 
from  the  jury  box,  without  apology,  those  who  were 
prejudiced,  and  I  would  do  it  again  under  similar 
circumstances.  I  have  always  maintained  that  I 
ought  to  have  been  called  "  The  Great  Unpacker." 

This  soubriquet  of  "  Peter  the  Packer  "  gave  rise 
to  many  incidents  which  caused  me  no  little  amuse- 
ment. Once  I  cross-examined  a  peasant  named 
Bridget  Maloney.  In  my  endeavour  to  ehcit  the 
truth  from  her  I  said,  persuasively:  "Come,  come, 
Bridget;  tell  the  jury  what  occurred."  The  lady 
drew  herself  up  majestically,  pulled  her  shawl  over 
her  head,  and  said :  "  Mrs.  Maloney  to  you,  Pether, 
if  you  please."  When  I  had  at  last  succeeded  in 
getting  at  the  truth,  the  good  lady,  before  leaving 
the  witness-box,  crossed  herself  devoutly,  and,  fixing 
an  indignant  gaze  on  me,  exclaimed :  "  Glory  be  to 
God.     What  a  man  !" 

On  another  occasion,  shortly  after  my  elevation  to 
the  Bench,  I  happened  to  be  travelling  on  the  Great 
Southern  and  Western  line.  I  was  sitting  by  the 
window  of  the  carriage  which  had  been  reserved  for  me. 
The  train  stopped  at  Maryboro',  where  it  was  fair 
day.  On  the  platform  there  was  the  usual  crowd 
one  sees  in  Irish  stations  on  such  days.  A  number 
of  idlers  had  gathered  round  and  were  staring  into 
the  carriage.     One  man,  who  had  been  looking  at 


A  HUMOROUS  JARVEY  45 

me  more  intently  than  the  others,  suddenly  ex- 
claimed, as  he  pointed  to  me :  "  Begorra,  it's  the  Packer 
himself,  boys  !" 

I  was  much  amused,  and  the  saying  of  the  late 
Lord  Morris  came  into  my  mind:  "  More  people  know- 
Tom  the  fool  than  Tom  the  fool  knows." 

Once  when  prosecuting  in  Sligo  at  the  Assizes  I 
had  a  very  amusing  experience. 

I  had  been  in  court  all  the  morning,  and,  feeling 
the  need  of  fresh  air,  decided  to  utihze  a  little  leisure 
time  in  the  afternoon  by  taking  a  drive.  I  secured 
the  services  of  a  most  loquacious  and  humorous 
jarvey,  who  affected  ignorance  of  my  identity, 
probably  in  order  to  give  me  his  views  on  things  in 
general  and  on  myself  in  particular.  As  we  were 
driving  away,  he  pointed  with  his  whip  to  the  court- 
house, saying,  "  That's  a  terrible  hard  man  inside." 

"  I  believe  he  is  a  man  with  an  indifferent  reputa- 
tion," I  answered  mildly. 

"  You  may  well  say  so,"  he  replied.  The  man 
could  appreciate  scenery,  and  took  me  for  a  beautiful 
drive,  at  the  end  of  which  I  handed  him  his  fare  with 
a  substantial  fourhoire.  Looking  at  the  coin  and 
then  at  me,  he  expressed  his  thanks  by  saying, 
' '  Well,  after  all,  the  divil  isn't  as  black  as  he's 
painted." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   MAAMSTRASNA   MASSACRE — TRIAL  OF  THE   JOYCES 

In  August,  1882,  the  ghastly  and  blood-curdling 
Maamstrasna  massacre  took  place.  This  nocturnal 
murder  of  a  defenceless  family  is  unparalleled  in 
inhuman  ferocity  in  the  gloomy  annals  of  agrarian 
crime.  The  scene  of  the  murder  was  Maamstrasna, 
that  wild  region  in  Connemara]  known  as  the 
Joyce-country,  where  nearly  all  the  peasants  bear 
the  name  of  Joyce.  In  that  lonely  and  remote 
district,  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain,  the  cottage  of 
John  Joyce  was  situated.  Joyce,  an  industrious 
man,  was  erroneously  supposed  to  have  given  some 
information  with  reference  to  the  murder  of  two 
bailifis  named  Huddy,  who  had  been  in  the  employ- 
ment of  Lord  Ardilaun.  These  men  had  been 
murdered,  and  their  bodies,  tied  up  in  sacks,  had 
been  thrown  into  Lough  Mask. 

Joyce  and  his  family  were  attacked  about  one 
o'clock  when  in  bed.  He  was  shot,  and  his  son 
Michael  mortally  wounded,  a  bullet  having  pierced 
his  stomach. 

In  November  following  the  murder,  before  Mr. 
Justice  Barry,  Patrick  Joyce,  Patrick  Joyce  (John), 
Thomas  Joyce  (Pat),  Michael  Casey,  Thomas  Casey, 

46 


TRIAL  OF  THE  JOYCES  47 

Patrick   Casey,    John   Casey,    Martin   Joyce,    Myles 
Joyce,    and    Anthony    Philbin    were    arraigned    on 
an    indictment     charging    them    with    the    murder 
of    John    Joyce,    Michael    Joyce,    Bridget    Joyce, 
Margaret  Joyce,  senior,  and  Margaret  Joyce,  junior. 
As  the  prisoners  spoke   Irish  only,    there  was  an 
interpreter    in    court.      For    the   most   part  they 
looked  respectable  enough,  but  Myles  Joyce  had  a 
singularly    unpleasant     countenance.       They    were 
tried  separately,  and  pleaded   not   guilty.     Patrick 
Joyce    was    first    placed    in    the    dock,    but    the 
trial  was  postponed  until  Monday,  as  Philbin  and 
Thomas  Casey  became  informers.    Nearly  everybody 
involved  in  the  case  seemed  to  be  named  Joyce.     The 
most  important  Crown  witness   was   one   Anthony 
Joyce,  who  told  the  jury  that  on  the  night  of  the 
murder  he  was  awakened  by  the  barking  of  a  dog. 
He  went  to  the  window,  and,  looking  out,  saw  men 
coming  along  the  road.     The  witness  said  that  he 
thought   there    was    "  bad    work "    on   hand,    and, 
thinking  that  the  men  intended  to  attack  his  brother's 
house,  he  slipped  out,  and  concealed  himself  behind 
a  wall  in  advance  of  the  men.     When  six  of  them 
had  passed  him,  he  ran  by  a  short  cut  through  the 
fields  to  his  brother's  house,  and  awakened  his  brother 
and  his  brother's  son.     Unperceived,  they  watched 
the  six  men.     At  a  place  called  Derrypark  the  six 
were  joined  by  four  others,  who  came  out  of  Michael 
Casey's  house.    The  three  men  watching  saw  the  ten 
men  take  the  road  to  Maamstrasna,  but,  after  a  while, 


48      KEMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

in  order  to  avoid  observation,  they  took  a  circuitous 
route  through  a  bog  to  the  cabin  of  John  Joyce,  while 
the  three  watchers  hurried  on  by  the  direct  road,  and, 
when  they  had  reached  John  Joyce's  cottage,  lay 
down  concealing  themselves  in  some  bushes.  After 
a  few  minutes  the  terrified  men  in  ambush  heard  the 
door  of  John  Joyce's  cottage  being  taken  off  its 
hinges,  and  then  they  heard  shots  and  screams,  after 
which  all  was  silence,  the  silence  of  death.  Horror- 
stricken,  the  listeners  fled  homewards,  fearing  that 
they,  too,  might  be  done  to  death.  Patrick  Joyce, 
whom  I  examined,  identified  nine  of  the  prisoners; 
Anthony  Philbin,  the  approver,  corroborated  the 
evidence  of  Anthony  and  Patrick  Joyce.  He  said  he 
had  seen  a  revolver  with  the  prisoner  that  night,  and 
that  the  accused  had  helped  to  break  in  the  door  of 
Joyce's  cottage. 

Thomas  Casey,  the  other  approver,  corroborated 
Philbin's  evidence.  The  little  boy,  Patrick  Joyce,  the 
sole  survivor  of  the  unfortunate  family,  was  produced 
to  give  evidence.  He  was  so  ignorant  that  he  did 
not  know  the  nature  of  an  oath,  and  could  not  be 
examined.  The  scars  on  his  head  were  pointed  out 
to  the  jury,  who,  after  an  absence  of  eight  minutes, 
returned  to  court  with  a  verdict  of  guilty.  The 
prisoner  heard  the  verdict  unmoved,  but  Judge 
Barry,  who  had  the  kindest  of  hearts,  wept  when  he 
sentenced  him  to  death.  The  next  prisoner  tried  was 
Patrick  Casey,  who  was  also  found  guilty.  The  third 
prisoner,  Myles  Joyce,  was  tried  for  the  murder  of  the 


TRIAL  OF  THE  JOYCES  49 

girl,  Margaret  Joyce,  on  whom  the  most  revolting 
cruelty  had  been  practised.  He  was  a  cousin  of  the 
murdered  man — a  fact  which  made  the  crime  even 
more  appalling.  The  prisoner  tried  to  establish  an  alibi, 
but  completely  failed;  he  was  found  guilty  and  also 
sentenced  to  death.  The  other  prisoners  pleaded  guilty 
and  received  a  similar  sentence,  but  were  afterwards 
reprieved,  and  the  death  sentences  commuted  to 
penal  servitude  for  life.  Undoubtedly  these  men 
belonged  to  some  secret  society  the  object  of  which 
was  the  assassination  of  all  people  whom  they  con- 
sidered obnoxious. 

Two  men  named  Nee  and  Kelly,  supposed  to  be 
the  instigators  of  the  crime,  escaped,  and  were  pro- 
bably in  hiding  on  the  shores  of  Lough  Mask,  whence 
they  must  have  fled  the  country. 

During  the  trial  of  Myles  Joyce,  my  brief  in  the 
case  was  abstracted  from  my  brief-bag,  and  was 
missing  for  three  years.  To  the  brief  were  attached 
some  names  from  the  jury  panel,  and  in  the  mar- 
ginal note  was  the  letter  C,  which  indicated  that  the 
Crown  would  exercise  its  prerogative  to  challenge. 

Li  1885,  during  the  debate  in  the  House  known  as 
the  Maamstrasna  debate,  my  brief,  the  letter  C  on 
which  was  represented  as  meaning  Catholic,  was 
produced  by  one  of  the  Nationalist  members  of 
Parliament,  in  order  to  support  the  statement  that  I 
had  endeavoured  to  prevent  Catholics  from  serving 
on  juries.  My  object  was  not  to  exclude  Catholics 
or  Protestants  from  the  jury,  but  to  get  men  thereon 

4 


50     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

who  would  do  their  duty  fearlessly.  During  this 
debate,  when  the  good  faith  of  Irish  Judges  and 
juries  was  impeached,  Sir  William  Harcourt  called 
attention  to  the  fact  that,  on  the  trial  of  the  first  of 
the  Maamstrasna  prisoners,  there  were  five  Catholics 
on  the  jury.  He  also  quoted  the  following  extract 
from  United  Ireland  : 

"  On  the  trial  of  the  first  prisoner  we  may  venture 
for  once  to  point  out  that  there  were  at  least  five 
Catholics  on  the  jury,  and  we  believe  the  Catholic 
jurors  did  their  duty  no  less  fearlessly,  and  their 
verdict  will  be  approved  and  scrupulously  respected." 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE    IRISH   INVINCIBLES — THE   PHCENIX   PARK   MURDERS 

That  terrible  secret  organization  known  as  the  Irish 
Invincible  Society  was  established  in  Dublin  in  the 
early  eighties.  Evolved  from  Fenianism,  this  society 
had  for  its  object  the  murder,  or  "  removal  "  (as  the 
Invincibles  expressed  it),  of  those  who  had  incurred 
its  displeasure.  The  form  of  conspiracy  advocated 
by  this  society  was  the  lowest  ever  known  in  Ireland, 
or,  perhaps,  in  any  other  country.  The  Fenians  of 
'98  and  1803  aimed  at  the  overthrow  of  English 
rule  in  Ireland  by  rebellion  and  bloodshed;  the 
Invincibles  relied  upon  the  knife  of  the  assassin  to 
accomplish  their  ends.  This  recrudescence  of  Fen- 
ianism was  responsible  for  a  series  of  street  murders. 
In  February,  1881,  a  Fenian  named  Bailey  was  shot 
in  a  laneway,  because  he  was  suspected  of  having 
given  information  to  the  police.  A  large  reward  was 
offered  for  information  which  would  lead  to  the  con- 
viction of  the  murderer,  but  every  effort  to  find  him 
was  unavailing.  Shortly  afterwards  another  Fenian, 
named  Kenny,  was  also  shot  in  the  street.  Judge 
Lawson  was  on  his  way  to  the  Kildare  Street  Club 
one  evening  when  an  attempt  was  made  to  assassi- 

51 


52     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

nate  him,  and  Detective  Cox  was  fired  at  and  wounded 
while  watching  the  movements  of  a  gang  of  Invin- 
cibles.  Mr.  Field,  who  had  acted  as  the  foreman  of 
a  jury  in  the  case  of  a  man  named  Walsh,  who 
had  been  convicted  for  the  murder  of  a  constable,  was 
set  upon  by  four  armed  men,  jostled  against  a 
railing,  and  stabbed.  Badly  wounded,  he  fell  to  the 
ground,  and  was  stabbed  again  several  times.  It  was 
only  by  feigning  death  that  he  saved  his  Hfe.  The 
Invincibles  Curley  and  Carey  were  arrested  on  sus- 
picion after  the  Phoenix  Park  murders,  but  were 
released  in  a  short  time,  as  it  was  impossible  to 
bring  their  guilt  home  to  them,  owing  to  lack  of 
evidence. 

The  Invincibles  had  over  and  over  again  planned 
the  assassination  of  Mr.  W.  E.  Forster,  then  Chief 
Secretary  for  Ireland,  but  some  strange  intervention 
of  Providence  frustrated  their  designs. 

I  think  it  was  on  the  Wednesday  before  the  Phoenix 
Park  murders  that  Mr.  Forster  finally  quitted  Ireland. 
On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  Sir  Edward  Carson 
(then  Mr.  Carson)  and  I  went  to  Westland  Row  to 
wish  Mr.  Forster  good-bye.  We  heard  at  the  station 
that  he  had  gone  to  Kingstown  earlier  in  the  day, 
and  would  dine  there  before  going  on  board.  Little 
did  we  know  that  there  were  fifteen  Invincibles  on 
the  platform  at  the  time  waiting  to  stab  the  Chief 
Secretary  !  It  was  not  until  the  trial  of  the  Invin- 
cibles that  we  realized  how  narrowly  he  had  escaped 
death  that  evening  at  Westland  Row.     Carey,  the 


THE  PHCENIX  PARK  MURDERS         53 

informer,  said  at  that  trial  that  fifteen  mem- 
bers of  the  society  were  waiting  at  the  station 
with  the  intention  of  assassinating  Mr.  Forster  as  he 
entered  the  train. 

That  never-to-be-forgotten  tragedy  of  the  6th  May, 
1882,  when  Lord  Frederick  Cavendish  and  Mr.  Burke 
were  stabbed  to  death,  toojk  place  about  seven  o'clock 
on  a  lovely  evening  in  the  Park.  The  bodies  of  both 
victims,  when  discovered  very  shortly  after  the 
murder,  were  much  mutilated.  The  wounds  were 
caused  by  some  sharp-edged  instruments.  Immedi- 
ately after  the  murder,  a  car,  upon  which  were  five 
persons,  was  seen  going  at  a  desperate  pace  in  the  direc- 
tion of  one  of  the  Park  gates  known  as  the  Chapelizod 
gate.  It  was  early  in  January,  1883,  that  twenty-one 
Invincibles  were  arrested,  and  a  few  days  later  Robert 
Farrell,  who  had  been  a  Fenian,  gave  information  to 
the  police  which  resulted  in  the  committal  for  trial  of 
the  following  persons  on  the  charge  of  murder: 
Joseph  Brady,  Daniel  Curley,  Timothy  Kelly,  Michael 
Fagan,  Edward  McCaffrey,  James  MuUett,  Joseph 
Mullett,  Patrick  Delaney,  Daniel  Delaney,  George 
Smith,  James  Fitzharris,  Thomas  Martin,  Peter  Carey, 
Edward  O'Brien,  Peter  Doyle,  Joseph  Hanlon, 
Laurence  Hanlon,  William  Moroney,  Thomas  Cafirey, 
Patrick  Whelan,  and  Henry  Rowles,  who  died  in 
prison  shortly  after  his  arrest. 

On  the  11th  of  April,  Joe  Brady  was  the  first  of 
the  Invincibles  indicted  for  the  murder  of  Mr. 
Burke.     Judge  O'Brien  presided.     The  Crown  counsel 


54     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

were   the  Attorney-General,    Mr.   Andrew   Porter,* 
John  Naish,f  James  Murphy,  and  myself. 

The  court-house  represented  a  remarkable  scene 
during  these  trials.  The  prison  van  was  guarded 
by  cavalry  escort,  as  it  was  feared  that  some  attempt 
might  be  made  to  rescue  the  prisoners.  The  Judge 
went  to  court  accompanied  by  detectives  armed  with 
revolvers,  and  the  Crown  counsel  were  also  under 
protection. 

Dr.  Webb,  Q.C.,  Denis  B.  Sullivan,  and  Richard 
Adams  defended  Brady,  who  was  one  of  the  inner 
circle  of  the  Invincibles — that  is  to  say,  he  belonged 
to  what  was  known  among  his  confederates  as  the 
assassination  club. 

Much  interest  was  taken  in  Carey,  the  informer,  who 
gave  his  evidence  in  a  cool,  collected,  and  nonchalant 
manner.  He  was  a  well-dressed  man  of  respectable 
appearance,  with  a  sinister  expression  of  countenance. 
I  am  perfectly  convinced  he  could  have  given  more 
information  had  he  chosen.  I  remember  Carey 
turning  to  Dr.  Webb,  who  was  subjecting  him  to  a 
severe  cross-examination,  and  saying,  "  I  am  only 
answering  what  they  ask  me;  I  know  a  great  deal 
more.  I  am  more  friendly  to  you,  Dr.  Webb,  than 
you  think;  bear  that  in  mind." 

The  prisoner  presented  a  different  appearance 
from  Carey.  Brady  was  a  great,  strong,  determined- 
looking  young  man.  On  the  morning  of  the  trial  he 
leant  over  the  dock  as  if  to  assault  Carey,  who  gave 

*  Afterwards  Sir  Andrew  Porter.       f  Then  Solicitor-General. 


THE  PHCENIX  PARK  MURDERS  55 

his  evidence  as  if  he  were  talking  over  the  most 
ordinary  events.  He  stated  that  he  had  himself 
pointed  out  Mr.  Burke  to  the  prisoner,  saying, 
"  Mind  it  is  the  man  in  grey,"  before  giving  the 
signal  for  assassination.  Carey  was  the  paymaster 
of  the  Irish  Invincibles,  and  had  formerly  belonged 
to  the  Fenian  Brotherhood.  In  his  evidence  he  said 
that,  after  the  murders,  Brady  told  him  that  he  had 
followed  Mr.  Burke,  put  his  hand  on  his  shoulder,  and 
stabbed  him;  and  that  Lord  Frederick  Cavendish 
(whom  Brady  did  not  know)  struck  him  with  an 
umbrella,  and  called  him  a  ruffian,  at  which  Brady 
said:  "  I  got  annoyed,  and,  following  him  out  into 
the  road,  settled  him  there.  When  I  looked  round 
I  saw  Tim  Kelly  near  Mr.  Burke,  whereupon  I  went 
over  to  where  Kelly  had  left  Mr.  Burke,  and  cut  his 
throat,  wiping  my  knife  in  the  grass."  Carey  said 
seven  men  were  assigned  to  what  he  called  "  the 
work,"  but  that  it  was  Brady  and  Kelly  who  actually 
committed  the  deed. 

In  all  my  experience  as  an  advocate,  I  never  heard 
of  a  murder  so  callously  and  coolly  executed.  A  few 
minutes  before  its  occurrence  Carey  had  been  an  in 
terested  spectator  of  a  polo  match  on  the  Nine  Acres, 
and  had  remarked  that  it  was  "  the  first  time  he  had 
seen  the  game,  which  was  a  right  good  one." 

Smith,  one  of  the  Invincibles,  worked  at  the  Castle, 
and  was  familiar  with  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Burke. 
He  was  decoyed  into  joining  the  society  in  order  that 
he  might  point  him  out  to  the  assassins,  who  did  not 


56     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

even  know  him  by  sight.     Smith  declared  that  he 
was  so  overcome  with  horror  and  fright  at  the  work 
assigned  to  him  that  he  "  shook  like  a  sheet  in  the 
wind."     He  knew  well  that,  were  he  to  object  to 
carry  out  the  orders  of  the  Invincibles,  he  would 
forfeit  his  own  life.     Indeed,  the  Invincibles,  before 
the  Park  trial,  had  decided  to  do  away  \\dth  Kava- 
nagh,  the  car-driver,  and  Smith,  whom  they  had  used 
as  tools.     Carey  stated  the  objects  of  the  society 
were,  in  the  first  place,  to  make  history,  and,  in  the 
next  place,  to  remove  all  the  principal  tyrants  in 
the  country.     He  told  the  jury  how  the  Invincible 
Society  came  to  be  established  in  Dublin  by  a  man 
who  went  by  the  name  of  Walsh.     The  men  selected 
for  the  society  were  sworn  on  a  knife.     Walsh,  having 
enrolled  Carey,  James  Mullett,  Curley,  and  McCaffrey, 
informed  them  that  the  names  put  upon  the  removal 
list  by  the  society  in  London  were  those  of  Mr. 
Forster  and  Lord  Cowper,  to  which  Mr.  Burke's  name 
was  added  afterwards.     On  this  occasion  Walsh  gave 
Carey  fifty  sovereigns.     Carey  stated  that  Walsh  in- 
troduced him  to  a  man  named  Sheridan,  who  was 
disguised  as  a  priest.     With  this  individual  Carey 
arranged  that  weapons  should  be  brought  over  to 
Ireland  for  the  purpose  of  assassination.     Shortly 
afterwards,  a  woman,  supposed  to  be  Mrs.  Frank 
Byrne,  wife  of  the  secretary  of  the  Land  League  in 
London,  brought  Carey  a  consignment  of  wea])ons. 
Carey  further  stated  that  a  mysterious  person,  whose 
name  he  had  never  discovered,  but  whom  he  knew  by 


THE  PHCENIX  PAEK  MURDEES  57 

the  name  of  No.  1,  used  frequently  to  call  on  him  and 
give  him  sums  of  money.  This  man  was  a  Fenian 
named  Tynan.  These  organizers  of  the  Invincible 
Society  were  of  a  better  station  in  life  than  their  tools, 
and  were  in  command  of  money.  Before  the  Phoenix 
Park  trials,  Tynan,  Sheridan,  and  the  man  Walsh, 
escaped  to  the  United  States.  Those  of  the  Invin- 
cibles,  known  as  the  inner  circle,  were  accustomed 
to  hold  courts  martial  upon  anyone  suspected  of  giving 
information.  I  examined  Michael  Kavanagh,  the 
car-driver,  one  of  the  four  approvers  who  gave  evi- 
dence in  Brady's  trial.  He  stated  that,  terrified  and 
trembling  all  over,  he  drove  Kelly  and  Brady  from 
the  scene  of  the  murder  at  racing  speed. 

One  could  not  help  feeling  sorry  for  dupes  like 
Smith  and  Kavanagh,  who  were  deceived  and  misled, 
and  who  acted  at  the  dictates  of  rufiians  such  as  Carey 
and  Tynan,  who,  when  the  game  was  up,  either  in- 
formed or  sought  refuge  in  America. 

If  any  Invincible  was  told  to  be  at  a  particular 
place,  there  he  had  to  be,  and  it  was  often  only  before 
the  occasion  arose  that  he  was  told  what  he  was  to 
do.  Sometimes  a  man's  courage  would  fail  at  the  last 
moment,  as  in  the  case  of  Patrick  Delaney.  He  had 
been  told  ofi  to  assassinate  Judge  Lawson,  and,  feel- 
ing he  could  not  do  so,  touched  one  of  the  Judge's 
detectives,  and  having  thus  called  attention  to  him- 
self, was  arrested,  pistol  in  hand.  The  result  of 
Brady's  trial  was  a  foregone  conclusion.  Both  ap- 
provers. Smith  and  Kavanagh,  swore  that  Brady  was 


58     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

present  in  the  Park  at  the  time  of  the  murder,  Kava- 
nagh  having  been  an  eyewitness  of  the  deed.  A  Park 
ranger  and  several  other  witnesses  identified  the 
prisoner  as  one  of  the  men  whom  they  had  seen  at 
the  Park  when  the  murder  was  committed.  A  young 
girl  was  the  principal  witness  for  the  defence.  She 
swore  to  having  gone  for  a  walk  with  Brady  on  the 
night  of  the  6th.  On  cross-examination  it  transpired 
that  she  was  a  personal  friend  of  the  prisoner,  and 
was  evidently  keeping  company  with  him. 

Brady  was  found  guilty  (as  Judge  O'Brien  said, 
before  passing  sentence  of  death),  "  upon  cumulative 
and  overwhelming  evidence :  evidence  such  as  to  pre- 
clude any  intelligent  person  from  entertaining  any 
doubt  of  his  guilt." 

Daniel  Curley  was  the  second  of  the  Invincibles 
tried,  and  the  evidence  was  practically  the  same  as 
in  the  case  of  Brady.  All  the  informers  were  ex- 
amined, Peter  Carey,  the  brother  of  James  Carey, 
being  added  to  their  number.  Evidence  was  given 
to  show  that  the  prisoner  had  been  in  charge  of  the 
arrangements  for  the  assassination  of  Mr.  Burke  and 
Lord  Frederick  Cavendish  on  the  6th  of  May.  It 
was,  of  course,  necessary  to  satisfy  the  jury  that 
Curley  had  been  actually  seen  in  the  Park  on  the  day 
of  the  murder,  and  a  servant-girl  who  had  at  one 
time  been  in  service  at  the  Chief  Secretary's  Lodge 
identified  Curley.  She  stated  that  she  saw  "  the 
scuffle  "  taking  place  in  the  Park,  and  that  while  she 
was  feeling  terrified,  Curley  had  come  towards  her, 


THE  PHCENIX  PARK  MURDERS  59 

and  that  his  face  was  for  ever  stamped  on  her  memory. 
True,  she  had  seen  it  for  only  a  second,  but  what  a 
haunting  and  abiding  memory  it  must  have  been — 
the  face  of  a  murderer  on  the  scene  of  a  murder ! 
Curley,  before  sentence  of  death  was  passed  upon 
him,  made  a  long  speech  in  which  he  asserted  his 
innocence,  and  denounced  informers,  though  it  was 
known  to  the  Crown  counsel  that  he  had  ofiered  to 
turn  Queen's  evidence.  Carey  had,  however,  fore- 
stalled him  by  an  hour's  time.  "  I  was  an  hour  before 
you,  Dan,"  Carey  had  said  to  the  prisoner  at  the 
magisterial  investigation,  meaning  thereby  that  he 
had  been  the  first  to  offer  information. 

The  jury  having  disagreed  twice  in  the  case  of 
Tim  Kelly,  the  third  Invincible,  Michael  Fagan,  was 
put  on  trial.  In  his  case  a  dramatic  incident  occurred. 
Two  witnesses,  a  Mrs.  McMahon  and  her  married 
daughter  (a  Mrs.  Forester,  the  wife  of  a  journalist), 
came  forward  to  prove  an  alibi  for  the  defence.  Mrs. 
McMahon,  an  elderly  woman  of  nice  appearance, 
said  that  she  had  come  from  Liverpool  at  great  ex- 
pense and  inconvenience,  solely  in  order  that  justice 
might  be  done  to  the  prisoners.  Mrs.  McMahon 
stated  that  Fagan  had  been  with  her  and  her  daughter 
at  about  a  quarter  past  seven  o'clock  on  the  night 
of  the  murder.  When  adroitly  cross-examined  by 
the  Attorney-General,  she  said  that  she  did  not 
know  her  son-in-law  Forester's  address.  On  cross-ex- 
amination it  transpired  that  her  son-in-law  had  left 
Dublin  at  the  time  of  the  arrest  in  connection  with 


60     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

the  Park  murders,   and  that  she  herself  and  her 
daughter  had  also  left  Dublin  shortly  before  the  trial. 
On  being  asked  if  her  son-in-law  took  a  considerable 
interest  in  Irish  politics,  she  briefly  repHed,  "  I  don't 
know."    The  Attorney-General,  however,  pressed  the 
question:  "  Come,  madam,"  he  said;  "  was  Forester 
a  Fenian  centre  here  in  Dublin — perfectly  well-'known 
on   the   directorate   of   the   Fenian   organization  ?" 
The  good  lady,  affecting  an  air  of  complete  innocence, 
answered  the  question  by  putting  another: 
"  How  can  I  tell  V  she  asked. 
Judge  O'Brien  bade  her  answer  "  Yes  "  or  "  No." 
She  then  said:  "  I  know  nothing." 
When  she  was  asked  how  she  came  to  make  the 
prisoner's  acquaintance,  she  said  she  knew  him  through 
his  coming  to  see  her  son-in-law,  and  she  admitted 
that  he  had  been  coming  to  see  Forester  for  a  con- 
siderable time.     She  was  then  asked  how  Forester 
came  to  be  acquainted  with  Fagan,  to  which  question 
she  repHed  by  saying  that  she  could  not  tell.     The 
Attorney-General  once  more  pressed  her  for  her  son- 
in-law's  address,  of  which  she  again  pleaded  ignorance. 

*'  Are  you  on  bad  terms  with  him,  then,  that  you 
don't  know  his  address  ?"  she  was  asked. 

"No,  sir,"  she  replied. 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  of  his  being  arrested  ?" 

The  witness  admitted  that  she  had. 

"  Where  ?"  she  was  asked. 

"In  Liverpool." 

"  When  ?"  asked  the  Attorney-General. 


THE  PHCENIX  PARK  MURDERS         61 

**  Many  years  ago,  before  he  met  my  daughter." 

"  Was  he  ever  arrested  in  this  city  ?" 

"  No,  I  never  heard  of  it." 

"  Used  he  to  carry  a  revolver  ?" 

"  No,  sir;  I  never  saw  one." 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  dramatic  incident 
took  place.  A  constable  was  directed  to  stand  for- 
ward, and  the  Attorney-General,  pointing  to  him, 
said :  "  Supposing  it  was  deposed  by  that  man  that  he 
arrested  him  in  Camden  Street  with  a  six-chambered 
revolver  in  his  pocket — would  that  be  accurate  ?" 

On  further  cross-examination,  it  transpired  that 
the  very  respectable-looking  Mrs.  McMahon  was 
herself  arrested  in  company  with  her  husband  at  the 
house  of  Joseph  MuUett,  on  the  day  that  the  latter 
was  arrested  for  having  attempted  the  assassination 
of  Mr.  Field.  The  McMahons  were  released  next 
day,  and  the  lady's  husband  left  Ireland  for  ever. 
Her  son-in-law  was  also  a  fugitive  from  justice,  so 
that  her  evidence  had  a  most  damaging  effect  on  the 
prisoner's  case,  and  showed  clearly  that  he  belonged 
to  the  Fenian  Brotherhood.  He  was  sentenced  to 
death. 

Kelly  was  the  last  prisoner  who  expiated  his  crime 
on  the  scaffold.  Though  barely  twenty  years  of  age, 
he  was  one  of  the  most  desperate  of  the  Invincibles, 
and  was  one  of  the  men  who  had  been  actually  en- 
gaged in  the  attack  on  Mr.  Field.  I  was  told  that 
Kelly  had  gone  to  a  well-known  photographer's  to 
buy  the  photographs  of  the  Crown  Prosecutors,  James 


62     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

Murphy  and  myself.  He  wished  to  possess  them  in 
order  that  he  might  identify  us  for  the  purpose  of 
assassination.  Luckily  the  photographer  refused  to 
sell  or  show  him  the  photographs.  In  those  days 
one  went  about  with  one's  life  in  one's  hands.  Judge 
O'Brien  was  supposed  to  be  a  doomed  man,  and  four 
detectives  kept  constant  watch  over  him.  I,  too, 
was  under  police  protection  for  a  considerable  time. 

At  the  first  and  second  trial  of  Kelly  there  was 
some  difficulty  in  identifying  him  as  having  been  one 
of  the  Invincibles  in  the  Park  on  the  evening  of  the 
6th  of  May,  but  at  the  third  trial  his  guilt  was  clearly 
established.  An  Invincible  named  Hanlon,  who  was 
examined  for  the  first  time,  swore  he  had  seen  the 
prisoner  on  the  scene  of  the  murder,  and  Kavanagh, 
the  car-driver,  deposed  to  having  driven  him  from 
it.  Counsel  for  the  defence  impeached  Kavanagh's 
testimony  on  the  ground  that  it  was  not  reliable, 
owing  to  his  having  taken  drink  that  day.  Carey 
swore  that  Kelly  was  there;  and  Huxley,  a  gardener 
in  the  service  of  the  Guinness  family  at  Farmleigh, 
stated  that  he  had  seen  Kelly  get  ofi  Kavanagh's  car. 

The  Invincibles  Cafirey  and  Delaney  pleaded  guilty 
to  the  charge  of  murder,  and  were  sentenced  to  death. 
Delaney's  sentence  was  commuted  to  penal  servitude 
for  life.  Fitzharris,  a  cab-driver,  who  drove  Smith 
and  Carey  to  the  Park  on  the  night  of  the  murders, 
was  indicted  for  having  aided  and  abetted  the  mur- 
derers of  Lord  Frederick  Cavendish  and  Mr.  Burke, 
and  was  sentenced  to  lifelong  imprisonment. 


THE  PHOENIX  PARK  MURDERS         63 

Laurence  Hanlon  and  Joseph  MuUett,  tried  for  the 
attempted  assassination  of  Mr.  Field,  were  sentenced 
to  penal  servitude  for  life.  Mr.  Field  received  no  less 
than  six  wounds.  Joe  Brady,  under  sentence  of  death 
at  Kilmainham  Prison,  had  over  and  over  again  struck 
at  him.  The  remaining  Invincibles  pleaded  guilty 
of  having  unlawfully  conspired  to  murder  certain 
public  officers  of  Her  Majesty's  Government,  and  were 
sentenced  to  various  periods  of  imprisonment.  The 
Government,  fearing  for  Carey's  safety,  sent  him  to 
South  Africa,  but,  ere  he  reached  Cape  Town,  he 
was  shot  by  Francis  O'Donnell,  a  Fenian. 


CHAPTER  X 

JUDGE   o'bRIEN.      (by   THE   EDITOR) 

When  I  was  a  small  child  I  remember  my  father 
stopping  in  the  street  to  speak  to  a  tall,  thin  man, 
shadowed  by  numerous  detectives. 

"Shake  hands  with  Judge  O'Brien,  child,"  said 
my  father,  as  I  hung  back  shyly. 

"  Bonjour,  Mademoiselle,  bonjour.  J'espere  que 
vous  allez  bien,  Mademoiselle  /"  exclaimed  the  Judge. 

Such  was  my  first  introduction  to  the  Judge  who 
tried  the  Invincibles,  and  who  was  a  very  remarkable 
person  in  many  ways.  I  was  much  surprised  at  his 
addressing  me  in  French,  which  was  spoken  in  the 
musical  accents  of  the  South  of  Ireland,  but  was 
afterwards  told  that  it  was  a  mark  of  approval  on 
his  part,  as  he  was  very  fond  of  French  and  the 
French  people.  His  voice  had  a  strange  rolling 
intonation,  which  reminded  me  of  the  deep-swelling 
notes  of  an  organ,  played  in  some  vast  cathedral, 
or  of  waves  booming  against  the  clift's.  It  was 
impossible  for  anyone  who  had  once  heard  him 
speak  ever  to  forget  his  voice.  His  long,  lean,  in- 
telligent face  was  lighted  by  the  eyes  of  an  ascetic. 
An  extremely  devout  Catholic,  he  might  be  seen 
every  morning  at  an  early  hour  walking  to  Westland 

64 


JUDGE  O'BRIEN  65 

Row  Church,  with  detectives  in  front  of  him  and 
detectives  behind  him.  Oddly  enough,  the  Invin- 
cibles  Brady  and  Carey,  who  masked  their  evil  doings 
by  professing  extreme  piety,  attended  the  same  church 
as  did  Judge  O'Brien.  I  have  heard  that  Brady 
actually  took  the  offertory  at  the  church  door,  so  that 
in  all  probability  Judge  and  criminal  were  known  to 
each  other  by  sight  before  the  Phoenix  Park  trial. 

Judge  O'Brien  lived  in  the  most  frugal  manner, 
although  the  owner  of  a  very  fine  house,  and  a  most 
marvellous  collection  of  Dresden  china.  He  pos- 
sessed many  valuable  books,  and  some  very  beautiful 
illuminated  missals.  He  was  frequently  to  be  seen 
prowling  round  second-hand  book-shops  on  the 
look-out  for  rare  editions,  the  detectives  waiting 
patiently  while  he  made  his  purchases.  He  gave 
very  large  sums  for  rare  books,  which  he  left  to 
the  Jesuits.  Judge  O'Brien  was  rather  careless 
about  dress,  his  usual  garb  being  a  shabby  snuff- 
coloured  suit.  The  following  story  is  told  about  him. 
On  one  occasion,  when  he  was  to  open  the  Assizes, 
the  Sheriff's  carriage  was,  according  to  custom,  wait- 
ing at  the  station  with  the  usual  escort  of  soldiers. 
On  alighting  from  the  train,  the  Judge  stepped  into 
the  carriage,  and  the  door  was  closed.  Just  as  the 
escort  was  about  to  move  off  he  espied  his  bag,  which 
contained  important  papers,  on  the  platform,  his 
crier  having  forgotten  it.  Silently,  and  in  great 
haste,  he  scrambled  out  of  the  carriage,  unobserved, 
with  the  view  of  getting  the  bag.     When  he  turned 


66     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

to  re-enter  the  carriage,  lo  and  behold  !  the  escort 
of  soldiers  had  trotted  off  at  either  side  of  the  empty 
vehicle,  and  the  judge  was  left  standing,  bag  in  hand, 
at  the  station,  unrecognized.  The  escort  and  carriage 
reached  the  court-house,  the  door  was  thrown  open, 
the  soldiers  saluted,  but  no  Judge  alighted.  The 
Sheriff  stood  hatless  and  bewildered,  when,  all  at 
once,  a  sorry -looking  fly  appeared  on  the  scene,  from 
which  the  Judge  emerged  breathless,  with  bag  in  hand. 
Though  it  was  predicted  that  Judge  O'Brien  would 
never  die  in  his  bed,  he  lived  to  old  age.  He 
never  married,  and  was  supposed  to  be  a  misogynist, 
but  was  very  fond  of  young  people.  My  sister 
and  I,  when  children,  were  often  invited  to  his 
house,  where  he  made  us  very  happy  by  permitting 
us  to  inspect  his  collection  of  Dresden  china  shep- 
herds and  shepherdesses  and  his  beautiful  missals. 


CHAPTER  XI 

EARL  SPENCER — SIR  REDVER3   BULLER 

In  the  bad  times  a  familiar  figure  to  be  seen  in  the 
streets  of  Dublin  was  that  of  the  Viceroy,  Lord  Spencer, 
riding  in  the  centre  of  an  armed  escort  of  Lancers, 
whose  flashing  swords  plainly  testified  their  readiness 
in  case  of  emergency.  Lord  Spencer  was  supposed 
to  be  in  constant  peril  of  death  at  the  hands  of 
assassins.  His  life  while  in  Ireland  must  have  been 
little  short  of  martyrdom ;  he  could  not  move  without 
a  body  of  armed  men.  Daily  the  Nationalist  Press 
poured  the  most  virulent  abuse  upon  him.  When 
reading  these  attacks  one  wondered  whether  the  lan- 
guage of  vituperation  had  not  been  exhausted,  and 
yet,  when  he  declared  himself  in  favour  of  Home  Rule, 
those  who  had  abused  him  most  were  readiest  with  ful- 
some adulation,  or,  as  Mr.  William  O'Brien  put  it, 
"  were  the  first  to  black  his  boots." 

Lord  Spencer  had  many  of  the  quaUties  which 
appeal  to  the  Irish  people.  He  was  courageous  and 
dignified,  and  there  was  something  of  the  grand 
seigneur  about  him;  but  what  appealed  to  them 
most  was  his  love  of  sport.  He  was  a  most  fearless 
rider  to  hounds,  and  one  day,  when  riding  with 
the    Waterford    Hounds,    "  took    a     great    toss," 

67 


68     EEMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

as  we  say  in  Ireland.  The  meet  was  at  Curragh- 
more.  The  country  people  had  all  turned  out  "  to 
view  the  Lord  Lif tenant."  The  Waterford  people 
were  justly  proud  of  the  prowess  of  the  Beresfords  in 
the  saddle,  and  were  a  little  alarmed  lest  they  might 
be  cut  down  riding,  inasmuch  as  it  was  known  that 
Lord  Spencer  was  "  a  terrible  hard  man  to  hounds." 
The  hounds  in  full  cry  came  to  a  huge  stone  wall, 
nearly  five  feet  in  height;  most  of  the  hunt  turned 
away,  but  not  so  Lord  Spencer,  who,  without  a  mo- 
ment's hesitation,  rode  at  the  wall  in  the  stiffest 
place,  with  the  result  that  he  came  a  cropper.  At 
the  same  moment  the  voice  of  a  country  yokel  was 
heard  calling  out:  ''Lord  Marcus,  Lord  Charles,  for 
the  love  of  God,  ride  like  the  divil — the  Lord  Lif- 
tenant  is  stretched  !" 

When  Lord  Spencer  in  1885  declared  himself  a 
Home  Ruler,  it  was  indeed  a  bolt  from  the  blue,  and 
great  was  the  surprise  of  Ireland.  I  was  told  that 
he  went  to  see  Mr.  Gladstone  to  tell  him  of  his 
determined  opposition  to  the  Home  Rule  Bill.  During 
the  interview  Mr.  Gladstone  used  all  his  eloquence 
and  persuasive  powers,  and  after  two  hours  succeeded 
in  talking  "  over  "  Lord  Spencer.  When  Mr.  Glad- 
stone became  a  Home  Ruler,  I  was  obliged  conscien- 
tiously to  sever  my  connection  with  the  Liberal  party, 
like  so  many  other  Unionists,  after  which  I  saw 
very  little  of  Lord  Spencer.  The  last  time  I  met 
him  was  at  Homburg.  He  was  then  in  failing  health, 
and  was  at  Nauhcim  for  heart  treatment,   whence 


SIR  REDVERS  BULLER  69 

he  had  come  to  spend  an  afternoon  at  Homburg.  He 
was  much  changed,  and  the  once  red  beard  had  turned 
white.  He  recognized  me  first,  and  we  were,  I  think, 
mutually  glad  to  meet  again,  for,  though  our  political 
views  had  widely  diverged,  we  had  both  been  through 
the  bad  times  in  Ireland.  We  talked  about  the  old 
and  troubled  days,  but  carefully  eschewed  politics. 
Next  day  we  met  again  at  lunch  at  Frankfort;  we 
were  both  the  guests  of  Lady  Oppenheimer.  Some- 
one began  talking  about  politics,  and  Lord  Spencer 
made  a  statement  which  I  contradicted.  He  did  not 
easily  brook  contradiction,  and  grew  rather  heated. 
Next  day,  when  I  had  forgotten  all  about  the  matter, 
I  received  a  letter  from  him  saying  that  "  if,  in  the 
heat  of  the  moment,  he  made  any  observation  which 
might  have  seemed  rude,  he  was  very  sorry."  We 
met  again  in  a  day  or  two,  and  had  a  friendly  talk, 
but  politics  were  banned.  When  I  was  created  a 
peer,  one  of  the  first  letters  of  congratulation  which 
I  received  was  from  Lord  Spencer. 

In  1884  Sir  Redvers  Buller  was  appointed  Under- 
Secretary  for  Ireland.  I  had  met  him  before  in  the 
south,  when  he  was  sent  to  inquire  into  the  condition 
of  the  Irish  tenantry. 

I  saw  a  great  deal  of  Sir  Redvers  when  he  was  in 
Ireland.  I  always  liked  him,  and  never  doubted  his 
courage  or  abihty,  though  sometimes  I  questioned  his 
sagacity.  Under  a  gruf!  exterior  he  possessed  the 
warmest  and  kindest  of  hearts.  Everybody  who  had 
dealings  with  him  in  Ireland  liked  him  immensely, 


70     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

and  Lady  Audrey  BuUer  charmed  us  all.  I  remember 
on  one  occasion,  however,  feeling  rather  annoyed  with 
Sir  Redvers.  We  were  real  friends,  and,  as  we  both 
held  office  at  the  same  time,  frequently  saw  each  other 
at  the  Castle.  One  day  I  asked  him  for  a  small 
appointment  for  a  friend  of  mine,  who  was  in  every 
way  qualified  for  the  position.  Buller  listened  to  my 
recommendation  in  a  very  surly  manner,  barely 
answering  me.  I  felt  vexed  and  annoyed  with  him. 
A  few  days  later  I  met  my  friend,  and  said :  "  Well, 
I  spoke  to  Buller  about  you ;  it  is  the  last  time  I  will 
ever  request  him  to  do  anything  for  me."  "  But, 
surely,  you  heard  that  I  received  the  appointment  the 
very  day  after  you  had  spoken  to  him  ?"  said  my 
friend.  Tliis  was  an  instance  of  Buller's  gruff  manner 
and  kind  heart. 


CHAPTER  XII 

MR.  A.  J.  BALFOUR — THE  MITCHELSTOWN  RIOTS — ^TRIAL  OF 
MR.  WILLIAM  o'BRIEN — A  BOGUS  MESSAGE — THE  PARNELL 
COMMISSION 

In  1887  I  was  appointed  Solicitor-General  for  Ireland, 
the  same  year  that  Mr.  Arthur  Balfour  became  Chief 
Secretary.  When  one  looks  back  at  the  attitude 
adopted  by  the  National  Press  with  regard  to  his 
appointment,  one  cannot  fail  to  be  amused  at  the 
ignorance  displayed  in  its  columns  as  to  the  character 
of  the  new  Chief  Secretary.  It  was  asserted  that  he 
was  "  a  lackadaisical  dilettante,"  whose  relationship 
to  Lord  Salisbury  was  mainly  responsible  for  his  having 
secured  the  appointment.  It  is  now  universally 
acceded  that  he  was  the  most  successful  Chief  Secre- 
tary Ireland  has  ever  had.  In  him  I  found  a  fearless 
chief.  In  holding  office  under  him  one  felt  that  his 
policy  was  consistent,  and  that  he  was  willing  to  share 
responsibility,  and  to  stick  to  his  colleagues.  He 
was  not  to  be  intimidated  by  abuse  nor  by  the  asking 
of  questions  in  the  House.  Shortly  after  his  appoint- 
ment to  the  Chief  Secretaryship  in  that  memorable 
debate  in  the  House  of  Commons  known  as  the 
Mitchelstown  debate,  he  gave  evidence  of  that  firm- 

71 


72     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

ness  and  grit  which  conduced  so  much  to  his 
pohtical  success  in  Ireland.  A  pubhc  inquiry  into 
the  conduct  of  the  poHce  with  regard  to  the  riots  at 
Mitchelstown  was  demanded.  On  the  9th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1887,  an  enormous  Nationalist  meeting  was 
held  at  Mitchelstown,  County  Cork,  where  the  trial 
of  Mr.  WiUiam  O'Brien  was  to  take  place.  The  police, 
having  endeavoured  to  force  a  way  from  the  out- 
skirts of  the  crowd  for  a  Government  reporter,  were 
assailed  with  stones,  sticks,  and  any  other  missiles  at 
hand,  by  an  infuriated  mob.  The  police,  being  in  the 
minority,  withdrew  to  their  quarters  (a  short  distance 
away),  followed  by  the  crowd,  intent  on  attacking  the 
barracks.  A  constable  was  badly  hurt,  but  it  was 
not  until  the  barrack  was  attacked,  and  the  door  was 
broken,  that  the  police  fired.  One  man  was  shot, 
and  two  were  wounded.  The  moment  the  news  of 
the  fray  reached  Dublin  the  conduct  of  the  police  was 
a  subject  of  inquiry  at  the  Castle.  I  was  kept  busy 
looking  into  the  matter.  The  Chief  Secretary  and 
the  Attorney-General  were  in  London,  and,  as  it  was 
necessary  for  them  to  have  material  for  the  discussion 
of  the  question  when  it  came  before  the  House,  I  had 
the  direction  and  advising  of  things  in  Ireland,  and 
had  to  inquire  into  matters  in  order  to  ascertain 
whether  the  firing  was  justifiable  or  not.  It  was  not 
random  firing  caused  by  panic,  but  the  deliberate 
firing  of  men  acting  under  orders  from  their  officers, 
who  had  instructed  them  to  fire  at  that  portion  of 


THE  MITCHELSTOWN  RIOTS  73 

the  mob  which  was  attacking  the  barracks.  One 
pohceman  who  had  received  severe  internal  injuries 
had  to  crawl  alone  to  the  barracks  under  a  volley  of 
stones,  and  was  only  saved  from  immediate  death 
by  the  fire  from  the  barracks. 

When  the  Chief  Secretary  was  questioned  in  the 
House  of  Commons  by  the  Radicals  and  Nationalists 
with  regard  to  the  riots,  he  gave  the  leading  facts, 
and,  while  deploring  the  fatal  issue,  he  completely 
exonerated  the  police  from  all  blame.  Mr.  Bal- 
four informed  the  House  of  his  determination  to 
uphold  law  and  order  in  Ireland,  despite  attacks, 
undeserved  abuse,  and  unfair  criticism.  "  We 
shall,"  he  declared,  "  pursue  to  the  best  of  our 
ability  the  policy  founded  upon  justice,  and  which 
in  the  long  run  must  end  in  the  conciliation 
of  the  great  community,  with  whom  we  desire 
to  live  in  peace  and  amity."  These  few  words 
outlined  that  policy  which  was  so  successfully 
pursued. 

On  the  12th  of  September  the  inquest  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Mitchelstown  riots  took  place,  and  Mr. 
William  O'Brien  was  put  on  trial  before  a  Crimes 
Court. 

Mr.  Harrington  cross-examined  the  police  in  a 
most  outrageous  manner,  with  a  view  to  bullying 
them  into  making  admissions.  On  the  11th  of  Sep- 
tember Mr.  William  O'Brien  was  arrested  and  con- 
veyed to  Mitchelstown  to  be  tried  by  resident  magis- 


74     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

trates.  The  counsel  for  the  Attorney-General  was 
Edward  Carson,  while  Mr.  Harrington  acted  for 
Mr.  O'Brien.  After  many  stormy  scenes  and  many 
fireworks  on  the  pai-t  of  Mr.  Harrington,  he,  at  the 
close  of  the  trial,  threw  down  his  brief  and  left  the 
court.  Mr.  O'Brien  was  sentenced  to  three  months' 
imprisonment  by  Captain  Eaton,  R.M.,  and  Mr. 
Stokes,  R.M.  Mr.  O'Brien  deferred  his  imprison- 
ment by  an  appeal  to  another  Court. 

On  the  2nd  of  October  a  letter  from  Mr.  William 
O'Brien  under  the  heading  ''  A  Revelation,"  appeared 
in  the  Freeman's  Journal.  In  this  letter  Mr.  O'Brien 
said  that  on  the  last  day  of  his  trial  he  had 
been  informed  that  I  had  sent  to  Edward  Carson 
a  telegram  in  cipher  worded  thus:  "O'Brien  will 
beat  us.  Harrington  will  be  disbarred  at  our  next 
meeting  " — that  was  to  say,  at  the  next  meeting 
of  the  Benchers.  Of  course,  I  never  sent  or  caused 
any  such  message  to  be  sent.  By  the  5th  of  October 
the  supposed  telegram  had  grown  in  length;  it  now 
contained  the  words:  "Mistake  going  on  the  first 
evidence.  O'Brien  will  beat  us.  Leahy  no  good." 
(Leahy  was  a  constable  who  gave  evidence.)  "  Keep 
to  the  second  case  and  that  only.  You  are  ma^iing 
a  farce  of  the  af!air.  Can't  you  keep  quiet  ?  Send 
on  your  complaint  against  Harrington.  The  Benchers 
at  our  next  meeting  will  do  the  rest."  I  wrote  to  the 
editor  of  the  Freeman'' s  Journal  with  regard  to  the 
bogus  cipher  message  thus : 


A  BOGUS  MESSAGE  75 

"  From  the  Solicitor-General  to  the  Editor  of  the  '  Free- 
marl's  Journal.'' 

"  Sir, 

"  I  see  in  the  Freeman^s  Journal  of  to-day  a 
letter  headed  '  A  Revelation.' 

"  There  is  not  in  that  revelation  one  word  of  truth. 
"  I  remain,  Sir, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Peter  O'Brien. 

"  41,  Merrion  Square, 

"  Monday,  3rd  October,  1887." 

The  following  letter  appeared  in  the  Freeman  of 
the  same  day : 

"  Sir, 

**  With  reference  to  the  telegram  alleged  in 
to-day's  issue  of  your  newspaper  to  have  been  sent 
to  me  by  the  Solicitor-General,  I  beg  to  state  that  I 
never  received  any  such  telegram,  or  any  to  a  like 
effect.  I  had  no  communication  by  telegram  or 
letter  or  otherwise,  direct  or  indirect,  from  the 
Solicitor-General  from  the  time  I  left  Dublin  to 
conduct  the  Mitchelstown  prosecutions  until  my 
return. 

"  The  whole  story  is  absolutely  false. 

*'  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Edward  Carson. 
"  80,  Merrion  Square, 

"  3rd  October,  1887." 


76     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

(The  Freeman  on  the  4th  of  October  seems  to  have 
had  its  doubts  about  the  matter,  and  called  on  Mr. 
O'Brien  to  verify  his  charge.) 

I  was  naturally  desirous  that  Mr.  William  O'Brien 
should  produce  the  alleged  cipher  telegram,  but  that, 
of  course,  was  impossible,  and  one  can  only  conclude 
that  he  must  have  been  deceived  by  some  mendacious 
information. 

It  was  intimated  to  me  that  if  I  so  desired  I  could 
hold  a  brief  for  The  Times  in  the  inquiry  into  Par- 
nellism  and  crime.  I  went  to  London  in  connec- 
tion with  the  case,  and  saw  Dick  Webster,* 
but,  not  liking  the  lines  on  which  the  case  was 
being  run,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  would 
not  take  the  brief-t  Shortly  afterwards,  when 
in  London,  I  was  talking  to  a  friend  who  was  on  the 
staff  of  The  Times  newspaper. 

"  What  about  Parnellism  and  crime  ?  Have  you 
a  strong  case  ?"  I  asked. 

"  A  very  strong  case,"  my  friend  replied. 

"  Have  you  evidence  such  as  to  establish  the  con- 
nection between  Parnellism  and  crime  ?"  I  further 
inquired. 

"  We  have  important  letters,"  he  answered,  and 
he  told  me  of  the  letters  alleged  to  have  been  written 
by  Parnell. 

*  Afterwards  Lord  Alverstone. 

■j"  Though  my  father  declined  a  brief  in  the  Parnell  Commis- 
sion, I  have  heard  him  say  that  the  inquiry  did  much  valuable 
work  in  "  showing  up  "  the  manner  in  which  agrarian  crime  was 
manufactured  in  Ireland,  and  also  in  exposing  its  real  instigators. 
— ^Editor. 


THE  PARNELL  COMMISSION  77 

"  Where  were  those  letters  procured  ?"  I  asked.  I 
was  more  than  surprised  to  hear  that  Pigott  was  the 
purveyor.  I  warned  my  friend  to  be  careful,  and 
told  him  that  it  had  once  been  suggested  to  me  in 
some  case  to  produce  Pigott  as  a  witness,  and  that  I 
refused  to  do  so,  saying  I  would  not  touch  that  man 
with  the  end  of  a  fishing-rod. 

*'  Ah,  but  our  case  is  a  very  strong  one,"  my  friend 
said,  so  I  let  the  matter  drop. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

NEWSPAPEE  ABUSE — THE   CHANNEL   CROSSING 

When  I  was  Attorney-General  and  had  to  administer 
the  Crimes  and  Coercion  Acts,  I  had  the  distinction  of 
being  the  most  abused  man  of  Ireland.  I  was  de- 
nounced at  political  meetings,  and  in  the  daily  papers 
scurrilous  attacks  were  made  upon  me,  as  well  as 
upon  the  Chief  Secretary  (Mr.  Balfour),  and  Edward 
Carson,  who  devilled  for  me.  Newspaper  abuse 
never  yet  intimidated  anyone  worth  his  salt,  and,  as 
is  the  case  with  everything  in  Ireland,  it  has  its  comic 
side,  as  the  following  story  will  prove.  One  day, 
when  I  was  in  my  room  in  Dublin  Castle,  the  door 
opened,  and  a  Clare  man,  a  tenant  of  my  brother's, 
thrust  in  his  head. 

"  May  I  speak  a  word  with  your  honour  ?"  he 
asked. 

"  To  be  sure,  D ,"  I  said.    "  Come  in." 

When  I  had  shaken  hands  with  him,  I  asked  him 
what  he  wanted,  and  he  told  me  that  he  wished  to 
enlist  my  support  for  a  relation  of  his  who  was  can- 
didate for  some  local  appointment.  I  promised  to 
do  what  I  could,  and  we  had  a  talk  about  Clare  and 
old  times. 

When  I  wished  him  good-bye  he  thaiiked  me  effu- 

78 


THE  CHANNEL  CROSSING  79 

sively,  and,  just  before  leaving  the  room,  turned 
round  and  said : 

"  There's  to  be  a  great  meeting  at  the  Cross  Roads 
on  Sunday,  and  I  am  to  take  the  chair.  You  are  to 
be  fiercely  denounced,  and  I'll  have  to  give  you  the 
devil  of  a  belting;"  adding  with  the  most  comical 
expression,  "  You'll  understand." 

"  Belt  away,  Tom,"  I  said,  as  he  took  his  departure. 

As  Attorney-General  for  Ireland,  I  had  frequently 
to  visit  the  Irish  office  at  Queen  Street.  This  in- 
volved frequent  crossings  to  England,  which  were  the 
reverse  of  agreeable  to  me,  for  I  am  a  most  indifferent 
sailor.  On  one  of  my  return  journeys  to  Ireland  I 
conversed  on  board  the  steamer  with  an  American 
full  of  bounce  and  swagger,  and  obviously  suffering 
from  "  swelled  head."  In  the  course  of  conversation, 
I  spoke  apprehensively  of  the  misery  of  sea-sickness 
and  the  coming  crossing.  He  looked  at  me  with 
contempt  as  he  said :  "  Wal,  I  guess  I  have  been  across 
the  Atlantic  forty  times,  and  I  don't  know  what  sea- 
sickness is.  Sea-sickness  on  your  bit  of  sea  ?  No, 
not  l^iely  !" 

"  Well,  sir,"  I  said,  as  I  settled  myself  in  my  berth, 
"  if  you  wish  to  see  an  object  of  abject  misery,  look 
in  my  direction  in  another  half -hour  !"  The  passage 
was,  in  nautical  phraseology,  decidedly  choppy,  but, 
by  some  miracle,  I  escaped  the  dreaded  sickness,  and 
happening  to  glance  across  to  where  my  American 
friend  lay,  saw,  to  my  surprise,  that  he  was  indeed  an 
object  of   abject  misery — the  victim  of   the  most 


80     KEMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

humiliating  sufferings — a  ghost,  as  it  were,  by  day- 
Ught.  Catching  his  eye,  I  was  heartless  enough  to 
give  him  a  truly  diabolical  thrust.  "  Sir,"  I  said, 
"  our  '  bit  of  sea  '  seems  to  try  you  more  sorely  than 
the  Atlantic  Ocean.  What?"  He  did  not  reply, 
but  shot  me  a  look  of  hate.  I  doubt  that  he  ever 
bragged  of  his  sailorship  again.  Poor  fellow  !  All 
the  starch  had  left  him;  he  was,  indeed,  a  rag  ! 


CHAPTER  XIV 

MR.  WILFRED  BLUNT — BLUNT  V.   INSPECTOR  BYRNE 

My  first  appearance  in  court  as  Attorney-General 
for  Ireland  was  in  the  important  action  of  Blunt  v. 
Inspector  Byrne.*  This  case  was  in  connection  with 
the  suppression  of  a  meeting  of  the  National  League 
at  Woodford,  County  Galway,  where  evictions  had 
taken  place  on  the  Clanricarde  estate.  The  object 
of  the  meeting  was  to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of 
the  Plan  of  Campaign,  and  to  denounce  Lord  Clanri- 
carde. Woodford  was  the  scene  of  numerous  out- 
rages, and  some  time  before  the  proposed  meeting  a 
process-server,  who  lived  in  the  village,  had  been 
brutally  murdered. 

In  September  a  meeting  was  held  at  midnight  at 
Woodford.  It  had  been  proclaimed  by  the  Lord- 
Lieutenant,  and  at  the  meeting  the  proclamation  was 
burnt  by  Mr.  William  O'Brien  in  the  presence  of 
Mr.  Wilfred  Scawen  Blunt,  an  eccentric  Enghshman, 
who  championed  the  Irish  cause  principally  from 

*  I  have  heard  my  father  say  that  this  was  the  most  im- 
portant action  ever  tried  in  Ireland,  the  real  question  being 
whether  the  law  or  the  Plan  of  Campaign  was  to  be  triumphant. 
— Editor. 

81  6 


82     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

motives  of  vanity  and  a  love  of  notoriety.  Though 
digressing,  I  cannot  refrain  from  giving  a  short 
account  of  his  somewhat  Pickwickian  travels  in 
Ireland.  He  had  been  in  the  diplomatic  service, 
but  being  a  crank  and  quarrelsome,  was  constantly 
in  conflict  with  the  authorities.  In  Egypt  he  gave 
endless  trouble,  and  made  himself  unpopular  with  the 
Government  officials.  His  espousal  of  the  Nationalist 
cause  was  a  surprise  to  most  people,  as  he  had  no 
connection  whatsoever  with  Ireland,  where  he  was 
chiefly  known  as  a  breeder  of  Arab  horses.  Having 
lived  much  in  the  East,  he  had  adopted  the  Oriental 
fashion  of  squatting  on  a  carpet  instead  of  sitting  on  a 
chair,  and  was,  according  to  himself,  half  a  Moham- 
medan in  religion,  though,  when  in  Ireland,  he  assi- 
duously cultivated  those  priests  and  Bishops  who 
were  in  sympathy  with  the  Plan  of  Campaign.  He 
belonged  to  an  old  Catholic  family,  and  had  brains 
sufficient  to  render  him  intensely  mischievous.  He 
had  something  of  Don  Quixote  in  his  character,  and 
also  something  of  Mr.  Pickwick. 

Mr.  Blunt  was  to  address  a  Nationalist  meeting  at 
Woodford  on  Sunday,  the  23rd  of  October.  By  a 
proclamation,  signed  by  Lord  Londonderry  and  Mr. 
Balfour,  the  meeting  was  prohibited,  and  all  persons 
were  warned  to  abstain  from  taking  part  in  it. 

Notwithstanding  the  proclamation,  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  23rd,  accompanied  by  Lady  Anne  Blunt, 
Mr.  Rowland,  a  member  for  some  Enghsh  consti- 
tuency, and  an  EngUsh  Protestant  clergyman,  Mr. 


MR.  WILFRED  BLUNT  83 

Blunt  mounted  the  platform  at  Woodford,  and  opened 
the  proceedings.  Inspector  Byrne  informed  him  that 
the  meeting  was  illegal,  and  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
prevent  it.  Mr.  Blunt  replied  that  he  intended  to 
hold  it,  and  began  to  speak.  The  police  then  cleared 
the  platform. 

In  the  scrimmage  Mr.  Blunt  fell  with  the  police 
over  the  edge  of  the  low  platform.  Pale,  breathless, 
and  doubtless,  in  his  own  opinion,  very  heroic,  he 
rose  to  his  feet  and  asked  the  police  why  they  were 

such  d d  cowards  as  not  to  arrest  him.     Mr.  Blunt 

and  Mr.  Roche,  a  poor-law  guardian,  were  then 
arrested  and  brought  before  the  magistrate  on  the 
charge  of  having  resisted  the  police.  Both  were 
offered  bail  on  condition  that  they  would  make  no 
further  attempt  to  hold  the  meeting  there  that 
night.  They  refused,  and  were  sent  to  Loughrea 
prison.  Next  day  Mr.  Blunt  was  brought  before  two 
magistrates.  It  was  proved  that  he  had  resisted  the 
police,  and  he  was  sentenced  to  two  months'  im- 
prisonment subject  to  appeal  at  Quarter  Sessions. 
He  availed  himself  of  the  liberty  to  appeal,  and  was 
released  on  bail.  In  January  he  had  to  surrender 
himself  to  bail  at  Portumna  County  Court.  Judge 
Henn  tried  the  case,  and  condemned  him  to  imprison- 
ment for  two  months. 

An  action  for  assault  was  filed  in  Mr.  Blunt's  name 
against  Inspector  Byrne,  the  Divisional  Magistrate 
in  charge  of  the  police  at  Woodford,  The  trial  began 
in  the  Court  of  Exchequer  on  the  11th  of  February, 


84     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

before  Chief  Baron  Palles.    Atkinson*  was  with  me 
in  the  case. 

Though  the  action  was  in  point  of  form  a  civil  one 
to  recover  damages  for  alleged  assault,  battery,  and 
false  imprisonment,  it  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  an 
attack  upon  the  executive,  the  real  question  being 
the  suppression  of  the  Woodford  meeting  of  the  23rd 
of  October.  Sam  Walker,  who  stated  Mr.  Blunt's 
case,  endeavoured  to  show  that,  though  a  member  of 
the  English  Home  Rule  Union,  Mr.  Blunt  had  no 
connection  with  the  National  League.  I  cross-ex- 
amined Mr.  Blunt  as  to  his  connection  with  the  Plan 
of  Campaign,  and  he  was  obliged  to  admit  that  he  was 
present  at  the  midnight  meeting  at  which  the  Queen's 
Proclamation  was  burnt  by  Mr.  William  O'Brien. 

Mr.  Blunt's  memory  and  eyesight  were  on  occasions 
conveniently  defective.  When  cross-examined,  he 
seemed  to  remember  so  very  little  of  what  had  taken 
place  that  I  suggested  giving  him  a  copy  of  the 
Freeman's  Journal  so  that  he  might  refresh  his 
memory  by  reading  aloud  the  report  of  his  own, 
speech.  This,  he  said,  was  impossible,  as  imprison- 
ment had  so  impaired  his  sight  that  he  could  not 
read  print ! 

I  asked  Mr.  Blunt  if  he  knew  that  the  proclaimed 
meeting  was  called  in  order  to  celebrate  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  Plan  of  Campaign.  He  replied  thus:  "  I 
heard  something  of  it;  I  read  about  it  in  the  news- 
papers." He  also  said  that  he  had  gone  to  see  Mr. 
*  Now  Lord  Atkinson. 


BLUNT  V.  BYRNE  85 

John  Roche  about  some  evictions,  and  that  the  place 
was  barricaded  and  boiling  water  was  thrown  on  the 
police,  and  that  he  knew  there  were  other  evictions 
pending  in  the  neighbourhood.*  I  said  that  Wood- 
ford was  a  "  black  spot,"  whereupon  Mr.  Blunt 
replied  that  he  considered  it  a  very  bright  one  on 
account  of  the  patriotism  of  its  people. 

"  Burning  the  Queen's  Proclamation  made  it 
bright  ?"  I  said.  "  Sending  the  Proclamation  to 
blazes,  as  O'Brien  said  he  did,  made  it  bright  ?" 

I  asked  Mr.  Blunt  if  Mr.  O'Brien  said  that  he  was 
going  to  Woodford  to  tackle  Lord  Clanxicarde,  to 
which  he  repHed :  "  I  cannot  recollect."  "  Come  now, 
sir,"  I  said;  "  did  he  not  say  that  he  was  going  to 
Woodford  to  tackle  a  man  of  the  same  kidney  as 
Colonel  O'Callaghan  ?"  ''I  do  not  recollect,"  he 
replied.  I  then  read  from  the  Freeman's  Journal  a 
portion  of  Mr.  Blunt's  speech  in  which  he  referred  to 
Colonel  O'Callaghan  as  a  "  tyrant,"  and  a  "  rack- 
renter,"  and  asked  Mr.  Blunt  was  I  to  understand 
that  his  sole  object  in  calling  the  Woodford  meeting 
of  the  23rd  was  to  prevent  crime  ?  To  which  he 
replied,  "  Certainly,"  and  that  he  had  come  to  Ireland 
to  show  his  warm  approval  of  Mr.  William  O'Brien's 
conduct.  After  this  I  did  not  deem  it  necessary  to 
further  cross-examine  Mr.  Blunt.  Mr.  John  Atkin- 
son,! in  replying  for  the  Crown,  caused  amusement 

*  There  had  been  evictions  at  Bodyke,  Colonel  O'Callaghan's 
property,  where  vitriol  had  been  thrown  on  the  police, 
t  Now  Lord  Atkinson. 


86     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

in  court  by  saying  that  Mr.  Blunt  had  come  to  be  the 
counsellor,  friend,  and  protector  of  Mr.  William 
O'Brien,  and  they  might  as  well  talk  of  the  ass  pro- 
tecting the  lion.  Atkinson  read  a  little  poem  by 
Mr.  Blunt  which  ran  somewhat  as  follows: 

"  No  life  is  perfect  that  has  not  been  lived: 
Youth  in  feeling — Manhood  in  the  battle — 
Old  age  in  meditation." 

There  was  considerable  amusement  when  Atkin- 
son said  that  he  greatly  feared  this  line  had  been 
plagiarized  from  the  ideas  of  a  philosophic  friend  of 
his,  Dalby  O'Shaughnessy,  who,  in  conversation  with 
him  on  the  subject  of  the  "  Seven  Ages,"  had  said: 
"  Shakespeare's  idea  was  all  nonsense;  there  are  only 
three  ages:  the  first  period  is  when  you  are  thinking 
of  all  the  divilment  that  you  can  do,  then  the  period 
when  you  are  doing  it,  and  the  third  period  when  you 
are  making  your  soul." 

Atkinson  admitted  that  Mr.  Blunt  had  put  it  in  a 
more  refined  and  chaste  manner,  but  he  contended 
that  the  idea  was  Dalby  O'Shaughnessy 's. 

The  trial  lasted  for  over  a  week.  The  Chief  Baron, 
in  summing  up,  pronounced  a  severe  condemnation 
of  the  Plan  of  Campaign,  but  the  jury  disagreed. 
When  the  trial  was  over  I  heard  that  Mr.  Blunt  said : 
"  I  would  have  had  a  verdict  if  it  had  not  been  for 
*  Peter  the  Packer,'  "  which  remark  I  regarded  as  a 
compliment. 


CHAPTER  XV 

MR.    DILLON   ARRESTED — SOCIAL   LIFE   IN   DUBLIN — FATHER 
HEALY — CRICKET — MONSIGNOR   PERSICO 

In  October,  Mr.  Dillon,  wlio  had  been  travelling 
througliout  the  country  in  company  with  Mr.  Scawen 
Blunt  and  Mr.  William  O'Brien,*  making  inflamma- 

*  Shortly  after  Mr.  William  O'Brien's  imprisonment  Mr.  Hayes 
Fisher  stayed  with  us.  He  was  at  that  time  private  secretary 
to  Mr,  Arthur  Balfour.  Mr.  Fisher  told  us  that  one  night,  after 
the  inmates  of  the  Chief  Secretary's  Lodge  had  retired  to  bed, 
he  was  awakened  by  a  loud  and  insistent  ringing  at  the  hall  door 
bell.  Wondering  what  on  earth  could  be  the  matter,  he  rose, 
and  hastily  slipping  on  a  coat  over  his  pyjamas,  hurried  down- 
stairs. The  knocking  and  ringing  continued,  and  a  loud  voice 
requested  admittance.  Mr.  Fisher  concluded,  not  unnaturally, 
that  something  of  paramount  importance  had  occurred  which 
required  the  Chief  Secretary's  instant  attention.  Holding  a  bed- 
room candlestick  in  his  hand,  he  unbarred  the  door,  and  peered 
into  the  darkness — a  burly  person  stood  before  him,  and  said 
he  had  come  on  behalf  of  the  Corporation  to  inquire  if  it  were 
true  that  because  Mr.  William  O'Brien  had  refused  to  wear  prison 
garb,  his  clothes  had  been  removed,  and  that  he  had  in  conse- 
quence caught  a  severe  chill.  Mr.  Fisher's  reply  was  brevity 
itself  as  he  closed  the  door  and  returned  to  his  room.  The 
National  Press  next  morning  gave  a  most  sensational  account 
of  an  interview  alleged  to  have  taken  place  between  the  Chief 
Secretary  himself  and  the  Mansion  House  emissary.  The  paper 
stated  that,  after  repeated  knocking  at  the  door  of  the  Chief 
Secretary's  Lodge,  Mr.  Balfour  appeared  wearing  the  coat  of  his 
privy  council  suit  over  his  pyjamas.     The  article  went  on  to 

87 


88     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

tory  speeches,  was  arrested  under  the  Crimes  Act. 
A  question  had  been  raised  as  to  whether  Mr.  John 
Dillon,  who  had  the  courage  of  his  convictions,  should 
be  prosecuted  for  his  part  in  promoting  the  Plan  of 
Campaign,  as  it  was  feared  that  his  arrest  would  lead 
to  further  agrarian  outrages.  The  case  was  sub- 
mitted to  me,  and  I  gave  as  my  opinion  that  it  would 
be  a  disgrace  to  the  administration  of  the  law  to 
prosecute  the  mere  tools  in  these  matters,  and  not  to 
prosecute  the  father  and  inciter  of  the  Plan  of  Cam- 
paign. 

The  troublous  times  of  1886  to  1889  did  not  aflect 
the  social  life  of  Dublin.  Never  was  the  Irish  capital 
gayer  than  when  Lord  Londonderry  was  Viceroy.  He 
and  Lady  Londonderry  exercised  a  wide  but  dis- 
criminating hospitality.  Lord  Londonderry's  love  of 
sport  endeared  him  to  the  Irish  people.  His  resigna- 
tion of  the  viceroyalty  in  1889  was  universally  re- 
gretted by  everybody  in  Ireland.  We  were  lucky  in 
having  as  his  successor  Lord  Zetland,  another  sporting 
Viceroy.  Lady  Zetland  was  kindness  personified,  and 
soon  made  a  complete  conquest  of  all  Irish  hearts. 
Dublin  society   was   very    pleasant  in  those   days. 

state  that  the  Chief  Secretary  had  kept  the  Mansion  House 
official  waiting  while  he  pinned  on  a  decoration,  which  glistened 
on  his  breast !  This  account  provided  much  amusement  at  the 
Chief  Secretary's  breakfast-table,  inasmuch  as  in  the  darkness, 
illuminated  only  by  the  light  of  Mr.  Fisher's  candle,  the  Mansion 
House  official  had  taken  a  hastily  donned  cricket  blazer,  bearing 
the  arms  of  a  cricket  club  worked  upon  it,  for  a  privy  council 
coat  and  decoration. — Editor. 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  DUBLIN  89 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  entertaining,  and  Lord  and 
Lady  Wolseley  dispensed  hospitality  at  the  Royal 
Hospital  on  a  large  scale.  The  pleasures  of  these 
entertainments  were  enhanced  by  the  presence  of  many 
witty  guests;  amongst  others,  Father  Healy,  and  Dr. 
Nedley,  who  acted  as  a  sort  of  Boswell  to  the  witty 
Padre. 

In  my  household  Father  Healy  was  a  fersona  grata, 
and  we  were  much  attached  to  him.  He  came  to 
see  us  very  often,  and  we  noticed  that,  when  I  was 
harassed  or  worried  he  was  sure  to  come.  I  regarded 
a  visit  from  Father  Healy  in  the  light  of  a  stimula- 
ting tonic,  which  had  the  most  cheering  and  inspiring 
effect.  As  I  write,  I  seem  to  see  the  dining-room 
door  of  our  Dublin  house  open,  when  we  were  seated 
at  luncheon,  and  Father  Healy  come  into  the  room 
unannounced,  his  round  face  all  smiles,  and  the  kindly 
grey  eyes  twinkling.  He  used  to  fire  of!  several  bril- 
liant sallies  and  leave  us  as  suddenly  as  he  had  come, 
but  in  the  brief  space  of  his  visit  our  spirits  would 
undergo  a  change. 

One  day  he  told  me,  with  no  little  pride,  how  he 
had  floored  Mr.  Gladstone.  Father  Healy  was  stay- 
ing in  a  house  where  Mr.  Gladstone  was  also  a  guest. 
The  Grand  Old  Man  had  tried  to  draw  Father  Healy 
into  a  religious  argument,  but  could  not  succeed. 
I  do  not  think  that  at  any  time  of  his  Ufe  the  Padre 
desired  to  shine  in  theological  controversy,  neither 
did  he  wish  for  an  argumentative  discourse  with  Mr. 
Gladstone.     The   conversation   had   turned   on   the 


90     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

subject  of  dispensations.  Somebody  remarked  that 
some  foreign  royalty  had  bought  a  dispensation  (and 
named  the  sum  which  he  had  to  pay),  in  order  to 
enable  him  to  marry  within  the  forbidden  degree  of 
kindred.  The  bride-elect  was  young  and  beautiful, 
the  bridegroom  many  years  her  senior.  "  Now,  come ; 
what  do  you  say  to  that,  Father  Healy  ?"  asked  Mr. 
Gladstone.  "  I  say  that  the  fellow  got  the  dispen- 
sation a  great  deal  too  cheap,"  said  the  ever-ready 
Father  Healy.  On  another  occasion  Father  Healy 
told  me  that  he  had  met  at  Bray  Station  a  young 
lady — one  of  the  Dublin  belles — in  a  donkey-trap. 
She  was  in  a  perfectly  exhausted  condition,  and  ex- 
plained that  her  donkey,  on  the  way  to  the  station, 
had  taken  fright  and  run  away  with  her.  "  Faith, 
then,  he  is  no  ass,"  said  Father  Healy  to  the  pretty 
girl.  Many  of  Father  Healy's  stories  have  become 
"  chestnuts,"  and  lose  much  in  the  telling.  In  order 
to  appreciate  them  fully,  one  should  hear  the  de- 
licious brogue  in  which  they  were  told,  and  see  the 
humorous  twinkle  in  the  Pudre^s  eye.  As  an  old 
friend  of  Father  Healy,  I  can  say  that,  through  all 
the  long  years  of  our  friendship,  I  never  once  heard 
him  utter  an  unkind  or  uncharitable  word  of  anyone. 
During  Lord  Londonderry's  reign  we  had  some 
exciting  cricket  matches  between  the  Bar  and  the 
Viceregal  teams.  One  day,  having  gone  to  the  Vice- 
regal Lodge  to  see  His  Excellency  about  some  matter, 
I  was  told  he  was  on  the  cricket  ground.  I  found 
him  looking  on  at  a  match  that  the  Viceregal  team 
were  playing  against  some  cricket  club.     "  You  are 


CRICKET  91 

not  a  cricketer,  Attorney  ?"  His  Ex.  said  to  me.  I 
said  that  was  the  case,  and  that  we  had  some  excellent 
cricketers  among  the  members  of  the  Irish  Bar. 
"  But  they  could  not  beat  the  Viceregal  team,"  said 
His  Ex.  "  I  am  not  so  sure  about  that,"  I  replied. 
"I  challenge  you  to  a  match."  "Done!"  said  I. 
"  Wigs  upon  the  green,"  murmured  His  Ex. 

I  was  honorary  captain  of  the  Bar  team.  We  had 
some  excellent  matches  and  played  the  Zingari,  giving 
them  a  pretty  hot  time. 

While  the  land  agitation  was  at  its  height  I  met, 
at  the  house  of  Sir  Richard  Martin,*  Monsignor 
Persico,  the  Papal  Envoy  sent  from  the  Vatican 
to  inquire  into  the  agrarian  agitation  in  Ireland. 
Monsignor  Persico  was  a  courteous  and  affable 
diplomatist,  who  fully  understood  the  value  of 
silence.  He  listened  with  interest  to  what  he  was 
told  about  boycotting  and  the  Plan  of  Campaign, 
and  was  besieged  by  Unionists,  Nationalists,  and 
ecclesiastics,  all  anxious  to  impress  their  views  upon 
him.  To  all  alike  he  presented  an  inscrutable, 
enigmatical  countenance.  It  was  impossible  to  glean 
any  information  as  to  his  own  views — in  fact,  it 
would  have  been  easier  to  read  the  expression  on 
the  face  of  the  Egyptian  Sphinx  than  on  the  face 
of  the  Papal  Envoy.  When  the  Pope  eventually 
issued  the  Papal  Rescript  condemning  the  Plan  of 
Campaign,  the  secret  of  Papal  condemnation  was  so 
clearly  guarded  that  it  came  as  a  thunderbolt  upon 
the  priests  and  Nationalists  of  Ireland. 

*  A  wealthy  and  influential  Catliolic. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

THE   GWEEDORE   TRIAL 

One  of  the  last  cases  in  which,  as  Attorney-General, 
I  prosecuted  was  the  Gweedore  trial  in  October,  1888. 
Shortly  after  its  termination  I  was  elevated  to  the 
Bench.  Though  the  Gweedore  case  presented  many 
difficulties,  it  was  brought,  I  am  happy  to  say,  to  a 
most  successful  issue.  The  Rev.  James  McFadden, 
one  of  the  many  prisoners,  on  whom  all  the  interest 
of  the  case  was  centred,  was  parish  priest  of  Gweedore, 
a  wild  district  in  Donegal.  He  was  a  firebrand,  an 
advanced  Nationalist,  and,  being  a  warm  advocate 
of  the  Plan  of  Campaign,  had  been  prominent  in 
inciting  the  tenants  on  the  Olphert  Estate  to  resist 
eviction. 

Father  McFadden  may  have  been  sincere  in  his 
views,  but  he  was  arrogant,  and  not  devoid  of  that 
vanity  which  is  not  infrequently  met  with  in  the 
ecclesiastic.  He  had  made  numerous  inflammatory 
speeches,  and  a  warrant  was  issued  for  his  arrest; 
but  he  evaded  the  police  so  skilfully  that  for  some 
time  they  found  it  difficult  to  effect  it.  The  inspector 
of  the  district  was  a  prey  to  superstitious  fears,  and 
professed  to  have  seen  a  phantom  helmet,  headless, 
lying  at  the  door  of  the  police  barrack,  which  proved 

ii2 


THE  GWEEDORE  TRIAL  93 

to  be  the  reflection  of  some  dark  object  in  the  moon- 
light. Inspector  Martin,  who  did  not  belong  to  Gwee- 
dore,  was  appointed  to  serve  the  warrant. 

Quite  recently  a  friend  told  me  that  a  few  days 
before  the  arrest  of  Father  McFadden  he  had  met 
young  Martin  at  a  dinner-party,  and  that  he  was  a 
pleasant,  courageous  young  fellow — a  gentleman  by 
birth.  He  had  contributed  to  the  amusement  of  the 
evening  by  singing  after  dinner,  and  was  the  gayest 
of  all  present,  but  as  my  friend  was  leaving  the  dining- 
room  he  glanced  round,  and  perceived  that  they  had 
sat  down  thirteen  to  dinner — iU-omened  number  ! 

A  cardinal  blunder  was  made  in  effecting  the  arrest 
of  Father  McFadden  which  resulted  in  loss  of  life. 
The  police,  instead  of  waiting  patiently  until  a  favour- 
able moment  presented  itself,  endeavoured  to  arrest 
the  priest  in  the  chapel  yard,  when  he  was  attired 
in  full  canonicals  and  about  to  say  Mass. 

Everybody  who  knows  how  deeply  the  Irish  people 
love  and  venerate  their  priests  will  understand  the 
folly  of  attempting  to  arrest  one  during  the  hours  of 
service,  surrounded  by  his  flock.  In  Ireland  from  time 
immemorial  the  Soggarth  has  been  the  disinterested 
and,  often,  the  sole  friend  of  the  peasant,  the  sharer 
of  his  joys  and  troubles,  and  no  thinking  person  could 
avoid  condemning  the  time  and  method  of  Father 
McFadden's  arrest.  In  a  moment  the  parishioners 
were  on  fire,  they  gathered  round  the  priest  and 
threw  stones  at  the  police.  Father  McFadden,  fol- 
lowed   by    Sergeant   Carey   and    Inspector   Martin, 


94     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

stepped  towards  the  Presbytery,  which  was  in  close 
proximity  to  the  church,  and  managed  to  get  inside 
the  door,  which  was  then  slammed.  There  were  only 
seven  police  sent  to  effect  the  arrest,  and  the  hostile 
crowd  set  upon  them.  Soon  Sergeant  Carey  was 
bleeding  profusely  from  a  blow,  while  Inspector 
Martin,  when  endeavouring  to  enter  the  Presbytery, 
was  knocked  dovv^n,  and,  when  prostrate  and  defence- 
less on  the  ground,  was  done  to  death  by  a  violent 
blow  from  a  stone.  While  this  ghastly  scene  was 
being  enacted,  two  women  were  looking  on  from  the 
Presbytery  window,  and,  to  their  shame,  made  no 
attempt  to  save  Inspector  Martin.  One  was  a 
servant-girl,  the  other  a  relation  of  Father  McFadden 
— a  sister,  I  believe.  Had  Father  McFadden  come 
forward  himself  and  begged  the  crowd  to  disperse, 
bloodshed  might  undoubtedly  have  been  avoided. 
Probably,  when  too  late,  he  much  regretted  not  having 
done  so.  The  Gweedore  murder  evoked  much  in- 
terest. As  I  have  already  said,  the  case  presented 
many  difficulties.  It  was  impossible  to  try  the  priest 
on  a  charge  of  murder  or  manslaughter.  Surely  he 
deserved  punishment,  but  what  was  to  be  done  ? 
On  the  30tli  of  October  the  court-house  was  densely 
crowded,  the  air  was  stuffy,  and  those  who  thronged 
the  place,  evidently  expecting  a  protracted  trial,  were 
doomed  to  disappointment,  for  it  was  brought  to  a 
speedy  and  satisfactory  close.  With  me  in  the  case 
were  Mr.  Ryan,  Q.C.,  Mr.  Con  Molloy,  Edward  Carson,* 
*  Now  Sir  Edward  Carson 


THE  GWEEDORE  TRIAL  95 

and  Mr.  John  Ross.*  For  the  defence  were  The 
MacDermot,  Q.C.,  and  Mr.  Houston.  Six  prisoners 
pleaded  guilty  to  manslaughter,  nine  admitted  mis- 
demeanour, while  Father  McFadden  himself  pleaded 
guilty  to  obstructing  the  police.  I  said  in  opening 
the  case:  "  I  think,  having  regard  to  the  statement  of 
The  MacDermot,  it  is  only  right  on  my  part  to  say 
that  an  acknowledgment  of  guilt  and  submission  to 
the  law  are  matters  which  have  always  been  to  some 
extent  considered  in  the  punishment  inflicted." 

A  jury  having  been  sworn,  Judge  Gibson  stated 
that  the  prisoners  had  pleaded  not  guilty  of  murder, 
but  guilty  of  manslaughter,  and  directed  them  to  find 
a  verdict  accordingly,  which  they  did.  A  prisoner 
named  Coll,  who  was  the  first  to  strike  Martin,  and 
who  was  seen  in  the  stone-throwing  crowd,  was  found 
guilty  of  manslaughter  and  sentenced  to  ten  years' 
penal  servitude;  while  the  other  prisoners  who  were 
prominent  in  the  attack  on  the  police  were  given 
various  terms  of  imprisonment.  Judge  Gibson  then 
addressed  Father  McFadden,  saying  that,  the  Crown 
having  abandoned  proceedings  against  him,  it  was 
only  necessary  for  the  Judge  to  consider  how  far  he 
could  accede  to  the  suggestion  that  Father  McFadden 
should  be  allowed  on  his  own  plea  of  guilty  to  stand 
out  on  his  own  recognizances.  He  dwelt  upon  the 
distressing  position  in  which  Father  McFadden  was 
placed — a  criminal  at  the  bar — by  his  ill-advised  eva- 
sion of  arrest,  and  all  the  misery  and  punishment 
*  Now  a  distinguished  Judge. 


96      REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

entailed    upon    the    members    of    his   flock    by    his 
resistance. 

Although  Father  McFadden  escaped  sentence,  he 
received  ample  punishment.  His  parishioners  re- 
sented that  he,  for  whom  crime  had  been  com- 
mitted, should  go  free  while  others  suffered.  A 
feeling  of  hostility  sprang  up  amongst  his  flock,  and 
eventually  he  had  to  leave  his  parish.* 

*  The  Gweedore  trial  was  very  painful  and  distressing  for  my 
father.  He  had  to  prosecute  a  minister  of  his  own  religion,  and 
the  courageous  discharge  of  this  most  painful  duty  brought  down 
upon  him  the  most  virulent  abuse  from  those  who  sought  to  stir 
up  the  evil  passion  of  bigotry  for  political  purposes.  In  December, 
1888,  my  father  was  appointed  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  Ireland, 
and  on  the  11th  of  January,  1889,  took  his  seat  upon  the  Bench. 
Not  the  least  pleasing  feature  of  his  appointment  was  the  many 
kind  congratulations  he  received — at  a  time  when  party  feeling 
ran  high — from  those  who  differed  from  him  in  politics.  In  1891 
he  was  created  a  Baronet,  and  in  1900  he  was  raised  to  the 
peerage . — Editor. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

HUNTING   RECOLLECTIONS 

Some  years  after  my  elevation  to  the  Bench,  we  moved 
to  Castletown  House  at  Celbridge,  where  we  were 
within  easy  reach  of  Dublin,  and  where  I  could  get 
some  hunting.     Once  more  I  could  indulge  in  my 
favourite  pastime  in  a  mild  way,  getting  out  some- 
times on  a  Saturday,  when  the  Courts  were  not  sitting. 
I  had  an  excellent  hunter — a  nice-looking  cob,  which  I 
afterwards  sold  to  Sir  Edward  Carson  as  a  Park  hack. 
"  The  Cob  " — the  horse  was  never  known  by  any 
other  name — was  an  excellent  fencer,  and  had  the 
bravest  of  hearts.    I  remember  that  one  day  when  I 
was  holding  quite  a  good  position  in  a  hunt,  over  a 
nice  country,  we  suddenly  came,  to  my  dismay,  to  a 
huge  yawner,  a  formidable  obstacle  in  the  shape  of 
a  nasty,  deep  ditch.     We  were  going  fairly  fast  at 
the  time,  and  I  did  not  at  all  Hke  the  look  of  the 
barrier  between  me  and  the  hounds.    I  tried  to  stop 
my  horse,  but  he  meant  to  have  the  fence  regardless 
of  my  wishes,  and  would  not  stop,  so  I  screwed  up 
my  courage,  gave  him  his  head,  and  he  negotiated 
the  fence  most  dexterously.    I  turned  round  to  look 
back  at  the  obstacle  with  complacency.     A  priest  on 
horseback  was  at  the  far  side.     He  was  standing  in 

97  7 


98     REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

his  stirrups  taking  stock  of  the  fence.  "  Sir,"  he 
called  out  to  me,  "  will  you  be  very  kind  and  ride  my 
horse  over  this  for  me  ?"  With  much  courtesy,  I 
dof!ed  my  hat  to  him  and  said:  "  Reverend  sir,  you 
are  presumably  better  prepared  for  the  next  world 
than  I  am;  therefore,  I  must  ask  you  to  excuse  me 
risking  my  neck  a  second  time."  Whereupon  he  re- 
garded me  with  no  very  pleasant  countenance  as  I 
rode  on  gaily. 

Frank  Goodall  was  huntsman  in  those  days,  and 
an  excellent  huntsman  he  was.  When  I  first  took 
up  my  abode  at  Castletown,  Major  Moore  was  Master 
of  the  Kildare  hounds.  He  was  succeeded  by  Colonel 
de  Robeck — the  son  of  that  excellent  and  much-loved 
sportsman,  Baron  de  Robeck,  affectionately  termed 
the  *'  Old  Baron,"  who  was  to  be  seen,  almost  until 
the  day  of  his  death,  in  the  saddle  in  all  weathers. 
From  Castletown  we  very  occasionally  had  a  day 
with  the  Meath  hounds.  John  Watson  was  Master 
then,  and,  as  keen  as  mustard,  he  lived  for  hunt- 
ing. In  his  eagerness  for  sport,  he  was  apt  to  grow 
very  much  excited,  and,  if  his  foxes  were  headed, 
his  language  was  something  at  which  to  marvel.  It 
was  said  that  his  evenings  were  spent  in  writing 
apologies  to  those  whom  he  had  offended  during  the 
day.  I  told  him  that  when  I  was  out  hunting  with 
the  Meath  hounds,  he  once  looJced  in  my  direction, 
which  so  frightened  me  that  I  galloped  straight  back 
to  Castletown,  where  I  did  not  feel  out  of  reach  of 
his  tongue  until  I  had  eiiiiconced  myself  upon  the 


HUNTING  RECOLLECTIONS  99 

roof  !  This  fiction  delighted  him.  Nobody  has  ever 
cherished  resentment  against  him  for  long.  During 
the  chase  he  was  a  privileged  person,  inasmuch  as  he 
was  such  a  gallant  sportsman,  and  so  desirous  that 
those  out  with  his  hounds  should  enjoy  good  sport. 
One  day  when  the  Meath  hounds  were  hunting  not 
far  from  Castletown,  the  fox  crossed  the  road  and  was 
lost,  greatly  to  the  annoyance  of  the  Master,  who 
thought  he  was  likely  to  have  a  good  run.  His  anger 
was  terrible  to  witness.  Longing  to  give  vent  to  his 
disappointment,  he  espied  a  trap  upon  the  road, 
wherein  was  seated  a  lady  gaily  and  fashionably 
attired  in  bright  scarlet.  John  Watson  held  her 
responsible  for  heading  the  fox.  Turning  towards 
the  field,  he  said  in  stentorian  tones:  "Ladies  and 
gentlemen,  you  have  to  thank  the  Scarlet  Woman  for 
spoiling  your  day's  sport !"  Everybody  felt  amused 
at  this  outburst,  but  nobody  dared  to  laugh. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

A   judge's   duties — A   NARROW   ESCAPE — SOME 

WITNESSES 

I  HAVE  always  thought  that  a  Judge  is  deserving  of 
much  sympathy  when  it  falls  to  his  lot  to  discharge 
that  most  painful  of  all  tasks — namely,  sentencing  a 
fellow-being  to  death.  Happily,  during  my  twenty- 
five  years  on  the  Bench  I  have  had  to  pronounce  but 
few  death  sentences,  and  all  of  them  were  in  cases  in 
which  the  crime  was  of  a  terrible  and  dehberate  nature 
— a  fact  which,  to  a  sUght  extent,  tends  to  deaden 
feelings  of  pity  for  the  criminal. 

Once  I  had  to  sentence  a  man  to  death  for  the 
brutal  murder  of  his  wife.  He  was  living  with 
another  woman,  and,  in  order  to  marry  her,  wished 
to  get  rid  of  his  wife  and  mother-in-law.  He  killed 
them  with  the  blow  of  a  spade  while  they  slept,  and, 
locking  the  door  of  the  room  in  which  his  two  small 
children  also  slept,  tried  to  make  his  escape.  The 
terrified  children  were  for  over  twenty-four  hours 
locked  in  with  the  dead  bodies.  Their  father  intended 
to  leave  Ireland,  but  was  arrested  before  he  could  get 
aboard  a  vessel.  Had  he  not  taken  some  of  his  pos- 
fsesbions  with  him  in  a  tin  box  he  might  have  escaped. 

100 


A  NARROW  ESCAPE  101 

At  the  trial  witnesses  swore  that  they  had  seen  a 
man  walking  at  a  great  speed  along  the  roads  on  the 
day  of  the  murder.  Some  of  them  could  not  recall 
the  prisoner's  features,  but  all  were  unanimous  in 
swearing  that  the  man  carried  a  tin  box.  When  I 
assumed  the  blapk  cap  to  pronounce  sentence  of 
death,  the  prisoner  cursed  me  in  the  most  dramatic 
manner,  but  the  day  before  the  execution  I  received 
a  letter  from  him  in  which  he  begged  me  to  forgive 
him  for  the  language  he  had  used  towards  me,  and, 
with  many  expressions  of  contrition  for  his  crime, 
admitted  the  justice  of  his  sentence. 

I  remember  trying  a  "  horse  case "  in  which 
evidence  was  given  as  to  a  jockey  having  pulled 
a  race-horse  so  as  to  prevent  him  passing  the 
winning-post.  His  guilt  was  established  beyond 
a  doubt,  and  I  was  amused  to  hear  that  his  sole 
comment  on  the  case  was,  "  Who  got  at  the 
Judge  ?  How  was  he  got  at,  and  how  much  did 
he  receive  ?" 

I  once  had  a  narrow  escape  from  death  while  in 
the  discharge  of  my  duties  as  Judge.  A  missile  in 
the  shape  of  a  stone  about  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg 
was  flung  at  me  from  the  dock  by  a  prisoner,  and 
was  within  an  ace  of  hitting  me.  The  occurrence 
took  place  at  Belfast,  where  a  man  who  had  been 
a  soldier  was  charged  with  burglary  and  found 
guilty.  While  I  was  sentencing  him  to  two  months' 
imprisonment  he  bent  down,  and,  taking  a  stone  which 
he  had  concealed  in  his  clothes,  flung  it  at  me.     It 


102    KEMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

fell  somewhere  at  the  back  of  the  bench.  How  the 
prisoner  came  to  be  so  armed  puzzled  us  all.  On 
inquiry,  it  was  discovered  that  on  his  way  from  the 
cells  he  had  to  go  through  a  long  subterranean  passage 
paved  with  cobble-stones,  one  of  which  he  had 
managed  to  pick  up,  evidently  with  the  intention  of 
flinging  it  at  the  Judge  should  a  verdict  of  guilty 
be  brought  against  him.  Ever  since  this  ugly  incident 
prisoners  are  always  carefully  searched  before  being 
placed  in  the  dock. 

I  recollect  two  rather  amusing  instances  of  the 
readiness  of  witnesses  to  reply  to  questions  the 
import  of  which  they  wholly  misunderstand. 

In  a  Probate  case  before  me  the  question  arose  as 
to  whether  a  testator  who  made  a  will  twenty-four 
hours  before  his  death  was,  at  the  time  of  his  so  doing, 
mentally  capable.  The  evidence  showed  that  the 
deceased  was  visited  on  the  day  preceding  his  death 
by  several  of  his  neighbours,  who  described  him  as 
being  more  or  less  in  a  state  of  stupor  and  collapse. 
I  put  the  question  to  one  rather  voluble  witness  at 
the  end  of  his  evidence:  ''  I  gather,  then,  that  the 
deceased  gentleman,  when  you  saw  him,  was  lying 
in  a  coma  ?"  "Oh  no,  my  lord,"  he  replied  without 
hesitation;  "  it  was  just  an  ordinary  bed  he  was 
lying  in." 

The  other  story  is  of  the  same  nature: 

A  Dublin  dock-labourer  alleged  that  he  had  been 
attacked  by  a  lascar  who  had  come  from  his  native 
India  as  stoker  on  board  a  steamer  berthed  for  the 


SOME  WITNESSES  103 

moment  in  the  port  of  Dublin.  The  plaintiff  swore 
that  this  lascar  had  assaulted  him,  abused  him,  and 
called  him  a  blackguard,  "  In  the  vernacular,  I 
presume  ?"  I  said.  "  No,  my  lord,"  replied  the 
witness  readily;  "  it  was  on  the  quay." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

LORD   JUSTICE   FITZGIBBON 

No  wonder  the  Irish  Bar  is  proud  of  its  past  glories, 
when  it  can  boast  of  having  had  among  its  members 
such  men  as  Curran,  Whiteside,  Bushe  and  Butt;  in 
more  recent  years  surely  its  glorious  traditions  have 
in  no  wise  been  unworthily  sustained.  As  I  write, 
the  names  Naish,  Fitzgibbon,  Palles,  come  to  my 
mind  all  unbidden. 

Lord  Justice  Fitzgibbon  was  one  of  our  most  elo- 
quent and  erudite  judges.  His  career,  when  at 
Trinity  College,  was  most  distinguished.  His  mind 
was  extremely  subtle,  and  he  generally  formed  his 
judgments  through  a  strange  process  of  reasoning. 
It  was  impossible  to  predict  what  view  of  a  case  he 
would  take,  and  the  ordinary  judicial  mind  often 
found  a  difficulty  in  following  his  mental  windings 
and  twistings.*    He  possessed  a  wonderful  knack, 

*  It  must  not  be  thought  for  one  moment  that  Lord  Justice 
Fitzgibbon  was  a  trimmer.  He  was  ever  good-humoured  and 
willing  to  temporise  for  peace'  sake. 

A  friend  of  ours  wanted  to  see  him  on  important  business,  and 
called  at  his  house  in  the  morning,  when  he  knew  he  was  most 
likely  to  find  the  Lord  Justice  at  home.  The  Lord  Justice  him- 
self met  him  in  the  hall,  and  said:  "  I  am  sorry,  but  I  absolutely 
cannot  speak  with  you  now.  It  is  nearly  eleven  o'clock,  and  I 
must  be  in  court  by  eleven  o'clock." 

104 


LOED  JUSTICE  FITZGIBBON  105 

wliicli  amounted  to  a  gift,  of  presenting  his  own  view 
in  the  most  convincing  manner. 

He  had,  if  I  may  use  the  term,  an  acrobatic  mind. 
He  was  the  most  delightful  of  hosts,  and  every 
Christmas  gave  parties  at  his  charming  residence, 
which  overlooked  the  sea  at  Howth.  Many  distin- 
guished people  enjoyed  his  hospitality,  and  one  reason 
which  made  these  gatherings  so  pleasant  was  that  he 
himself  thoroughly  enjoyed  having  his  friends  around 
him.  He  was  like  a  schoolboy  during  the  Christmas 
vacation,  when  these  famous  gatherings  took  place, 
of  which  oysters,  wine,  good  conversation,  good 
company,  and  long  rambles  round  the  beautiful  coast, 
were  the  distinguishing  features.  The  last  time  I 
enjoyed  Fitzgibbon's  hospitality,  I  had  to  leave  by 
an  early  train  in  the  morning.  It  was  a  foggy,  pitch- 
dark  morning,  and  I  had  to  grope  about  the  passage 
in  search  of  my  boots,  as  I  did  not  want  to  disturb 
the  other  guests  at  such  a  cruelly  early  hour.  I  had 
not  been  home  very  long  when  a  mock  warrant  for 
my  arrest  arrived.  It  was  sent  by  Fitzgibbon,  and 
was  worded  in  legal  phraseology  to  the  effect  that  I 

"  Oil,  I  shan't  keep  you  long.  Do  give  me  a  few  minutes," 
urged  my  friend. 

"  Impossible.  The  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop  of  Dublin  is 
in  my  study  at  this  moment.  I  must  see  him  on  some  educa- 
tional matter  before  going  to  court." 

"  Well,  I'll  slip  up  to  the  drawing-room  and  wait  for  you  there." 

A  strange  look  stole  over  the  Lord  Justice's  face,  as  he  answered : 
"You  mustn't  go  into  the  drawing-room:  the  Protestant  Arch- 
bishop is  there,  and  neither  knows  the  other  is  here." — Editor. 


106    REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

had  stolen  a  boot,  the  property  of  the  Right  Hon. 
George  Wyndham,  Chief  Secretary  of  Ireland,  and 
that  I  had  been  seen  limping  at  Kingsbridge  Ter- 
minus with  the  aforesaid  boot  upon  my  foot.  In  the 
dark  I  had  by  mistake  taken  from  the  landing  one  of 
Mr.  George  Wyndham's  boots,  whose  room  was  next 
to  mine.  I  had  noticed  at  the  station  that  my  foot 
felt  very  hot  and  uncomfortable,  but  this  I  attributed 
to  gout,  the  result,  as  I  thought,  of  Fitzgibbon's 
lavish  hospitality. 


CHAPTER  XX 

SUCCESS   AS   A   MATCHMAKEE 

Once,  and  once  only,  my  advice  was  instrumental  in 
bringing  about  a  marriage,  though,  to  my  regret,  I 
never  met  the  lady  concerned.  I  was  in  Wales  for 
a  short  holiday,  and  one  day  was  going  by  train  to 
Llanberis  with  the  view  of  ascending  Snowdon.  A 
young  man — a  barrister  as  I  thought — was  travelling 
in  my  compartment.  After  a  time  we  began  to  con- 
verse, and  I  found  that  my  surmise  was  correct,  as  he 
told  me  he  had  left  Oxford,  and  had  been  called  to 
the  Bar.  He  was  an  intelligent  fellow,  and  most 
eager  to  succeed  in  his  profession.  We  discussed 
legal  topics,  and  I  gave  him  some  advice  which  I 
deemed  might  be  beneficial  to  a  young  barrister.  As 
we  found  each  other's  society  congenial,  we  arranged 
to  ascend  Snowdon  together,  and  when  we  reached 
the  summit,  my  young  friend  grew  pensive  and  heaved 
a  sigh,  whereupon  I  chaf!ed  him  on  the  possession  of 
a  romantic  temperament.  The  beauty  of  the  scene 
may  have  moved  him  to  give  me  his  confidence,  for 
before  many  minutes  had  elapsed  he  was  asking  my 
advice  concerning  his  love  affairs,  which  were  causing 
him  great  perplexity.     It  was  a  case  of  "  How  happy 

107 


108   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

could  I  be  with  either,  were  t'other  dear  charmer 
away  !"  for  there  were  two  kidies,  and  he  could  not 
make  up  his  mind  to  which  to  propose.     One  was 
extremely  pretty  and  well  endowed ;  the  other  dower- 
less,  and,  to  quote  my  young  friend,  "  an  angel," 
having  nursed  an  invalid  and  querulous  father  through 
a  long  illness,  denying  herself  all  amusement  to  take 
her  place  by  his  pillow.     I  advised  him  to  marry  the 
dowerless  young  lady,  saying  that,  inasmuch  as  she 
had  proved  such  an  excellent  daughter,  she  would  be 
likely  to  prove  an  equally  excellent  wife,  and  stand  by 
her  husband  as  she  had  done  by  her  parents.     I  told 
him  that  under  such  circumstances,   even  without 
money,  he  would  probably  succeed  at  the  Bar,  as 
most  men  who  had  risen  to  fame  had  had  to  work 
hard  in  the  beginning.    My  young  friend  seemed  im- 
pressed by  my  advice,  and  when  I  had  finished  speak- 
ing, suddenly  exclaimed,  as  he  pointed  to  a  lady  who 
appeared  on  the  scene:  "  Why,  there's  the  pretty 
girl  I  was  telling  you  of."    Very  pretty  she  certainly 
was.     She  had  ascended  Snowdon  with  some  friend, 
and  was  delighted  to  meet  the  young  barrister.     She 
was  very  gracious  and  charming  to  me,  and  I  felt 
rather  a  traitor  in  her  presence,  owing  to  the  advice 
I  had  just  given.      The   episode   was  soon    almost 
forgotten  by  me,  and  my  thoughts  might  never  have 
reverted  to  it,  had  I  not  many  years  after  received 
a  letter  from  the  barrister,  in  which  he  recalled  him- 
self to  my  memory  and  thanked  me  for  my  advice, 
which  he  had  followed,  with  the  result  that  he  was 


SUCCESS  AS  A  MATCHMAKER  109 

"  happy  in  his  marriage  beyond  his  expectation," 
and  was  making  a  large  income  at  the  Bar.  My 
success  as  a  matchmaker  much  gratified  my  vanity, 
but  I  was  content  to  retire  on  my  laurels,  knowing 
that  I  could  never  again  hope  for  a  like  success,  inas- 
much as  "  angels  "  are  rarely  to  be  met  with. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

ON   LITERATURE 

On  the  18th  of  May,  1911,  I  was  present  at  a  dinner 
in  aid  of  the  Royal  Literary  Fund,  which  was  held 
at  the  Whitehall  Rooms,  Hotel  Metropole.  That 
distinguished  man  of  letters,  Mr.  Birrell,  presided — 
and  in  a  weak  moment  I  was  persuaded  to  pro- 
pose the  toast  of  Literature.  Had  I  not  had  the 
audacity  to  do  this  I  should  have  foregone  a  very 
pleasant  evening,  during  which  some  excellent  and 
amusing  speeches  were  made.  When  dinner  was 
over,  and  feeling  exceedingly  conscious  of  my  own 
shortcomings,  I  made  the  following  brief  speech,  in 
the  beginning  of  which  I  tried  to  illustrate  my  utter 
destitution  from  a  literary  point  of  view  by  relating 
this  little  story : 

"  At  an  early  table  d'hote  at  one  of  the  hotels  in 
Lucerne,  I  think  it  was  the  Schweitzerhof,  I  found 
myself  sitting  next  to  a  very  charming  Russian  lady. 
Her  children  were  seated  near  her,  and  were  con- 
versing in  all  manner  of  languages.  I  remarked  to 
the  mother,  '  What  a  number  of  languages  these 
charming  children  speak !'  The  gratified  mother 
turned  to  me,  and  looking  at  me — not  wholly  without 
interest,  as  I  thought — asked  me  whether  I  was  not 

110 


ON  LITERATURE  111 

a  good  linguist.  '  Alas,  madam  !'  I  replied,  with 
tears  in  my  voice,  '  I  do  not  speak  even  the  language 
of  my  own  country.'  You  can  well  imagine,  my 
lords,  ladies,  and  gentlemen,  the  mental  prostration 
with  which  I  made  this  humiliating  avowal !" 

I  then  went  on  to  say  that,  notwithstanding  my 
entire  ineptitude,  literature  had  afforded  me  so  many 
delightful  moments  that  a  spirit  of  gratitude  sug- 
gested that  I  should  endeavour  at  least  to  lay  a  very 
humble  tribute  at  its  shrine.  ''  What  has  hterature 
done  for  us  ?  Or,  rather,  what  has  it  not  done  for 
us  ?"  I  asked.  "  For  my  own  part,  but  for  literature 
I  should  still  be  careering  about  my  native  wilds, 
a  semi-civilized  backwoodsman.  What  Englishman 
is  not  proud  of  the  literature  of  his  country  ?  What 
Englishman  does  not  feel  a  glow  of  pride  when  he 
remembers  that  it  was  England  that  gave  to  literature 
Shakespeare,  Milton,  Chaucer,  Spenser,  and  a  thousand 
other  imperishable  names  of  both  men  and  women  ? " 

"  My  lords,  ladies,  and  gentlemen,"  I  continued, 
"  I  have  but  one  complaint  to  make  against  litera- 
ture. The  occasion  which  gave  rise  to  this  complaint 
was  certainly  a  very  trying  one.  I  remember  at  one 
time  I  was  on  circuit  in  the  West  of  Ireland,  and, 
with  my  colleagues,  was  asked  to  attend  a  public 
dinner.  '  Literature  '  was  on  the  toast  list,  and  a 
local  orator — a  Connaught  gentleman,  I  believe — 
was  called  upon  to  propose  it.  This  gentleman 
apparently  prided  himself  on  his  knowledge  of 
literature,  and  certainly  loved  the  sound  of  his  own 


112   EEMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

voice.  He  spoke  with  an  unrelenting  fluency  for 
three  hours  and  thirty-three  minutes  by  the  clock. 
It  was  marvellous,  if  not  magnificent.  There  is  a 
saying  in  the  West  of  Ireland  with  which  Mr. 
Birrell  is,  no  doubt,  familiar;  it  is  heard  in  times 
of  civil  commotion :  '  The  West's  awake  ' ;  but  I  assure 
you,  my  lords,  ladies,  and  gentlemen,  that  on  this 
occasion  the  West  was  fast  asleep  !" 

I  then  ceased  my  bizarre  and  uncouth  references 
to  literature,  and  presented  a  delightful  contrast  by 
associating  with  the  toast  of  "  Literature  "  the  name 
and  fame  of  Sir  Arthur  Quiller-Couch,  whose  health 
I  proposed. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

USSHER   V.    USSHER 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  case  in  which  I  had  to 
deliver  judgment  in  recent  years  was  that  of  Ussher  v. 
Ussher.*  The  facts  are  briefly  as  follows:  It  was 
argued  that  a  marriage  ceremony  celebrated  between 
two  professing  Roman  CathoHcs  was  null  and  void 
on  account  of  the  omission  of  a  certain  formality, 
not  considered  essential  by  the  established  Church- 
that  is  to  say,  by  the  law  of  the  land.  It  was  oJ 
paramount  importance  that  the  law  of  the  land 
should  be  upheld,  and,  as  naturally  the  case  was 
followed  with  considerable  interest,  I  do  not  hesitate 
to  give  it  in  full. 

The  question  to  be  determined  in  this  case  is 
whether  the  Petitioner  WilUam  Arland  Ussher  and 
the  Respondent  Mary  Ussher,  otherwise  Caulfield, 
were  lawfully  married.  The  material  facts  are  as 
f  oUows : 

At  about  ten  o'clock  at  night  on  the  24th  of  April, 

*  This  judgment  seems  to  have  given  universal  satisfaction, 
inasmuch  as  my  father  was  the  recipient  of  numerous  con- 
gratulatory letters  from  prominent  Catholic  and  Protestant 
ecclesiastics. — Editor. 

113  8 


114   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

1910,  the  Petitioner  went  through  what  purported  to 
be  a  ceremony  of  marriage  with  the  Respondent. 
Both  the  Petitioner  and  the  Respondent  were  Roman 
CathoHcs  at  the  time  of  the  alleged  marriage;  upon 
this  hypothesis  the  Petition  was  presented.  The 
ceremony  which  is  impugned  as  invalid  was  performed 
by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Fahy,  parish  priest  of  the  parish 
where  they  resided.  The  Petitioner  lived  at  a  place 
called  Eastwell  in  the  county  of  Galway,  and  the 
Respondent  was  a  housemaid  in  his  establishment. 
The  Petitioner  was  about  thirty  years  of  age  and 
the  Respondent  about  twenty.  The  Petitioner  had 
been  born  a  Protestant;  and  had,  up  to  the  date  of 
the  ceremony,  professed  the  Protestant  religion;  but 
immediately  before  the  alleged  marriage  took  place 
he  had  been  received  into  the  Roman  CathoHc  Church. 

The  marriage  ceremony  was  performed  in  accord- 
ance with  the  ritual,  so  far  as  it  is  expressed  in  words, 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  but  in  the  presence 
of  one  witness  only — a  woman  of  the  name  of  Agnes 
Kavanagh,  who  was  a  cook  in  the  Petitioner's  house. 
It  appears  that  both  the  reception  into  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  and  the  ceremony  of  marriage  took 
place  in  an  unused  bedroom  at  Eastwell,  into  which 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Fahy  was  secretly  introduced  at 
night  by  the  Petitioner. 

It  was  argued  before  us  that  this  marriage  was 
invalid  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  only  one  witness 
thereto  was  present,  and  that  it  was  invalid  ecclesi- 
astically and  legally,  both  in  the  eye  of  the  Roman 


USSHER  V.  USSHER  115 

Catholic  Church  and  in  the  eye  of  the  law  of  the 
realm,  the  common  law.  The  prohibitive  and  penal 
statute,  the  19th  Geo.  II.,  cap.  13,  was  referred  to 
as  invalidating  the  marriage. 

There  was  an  added,  I  might  say  a  special  ground 
of  impeachment  of  the  marriage:  it  was  alleged  to 
be  subject  to  the  condition  that,  if  the  ceremony 
which  was  gone  through  was  not  effective  as  a  valid 
marriage  in  the  eye  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
it  was  to  be  regarded  as  altogether  invalid.  The 
Rev.  Joseph  Fahy,  who  was  examined  at  the  trial, 
stated  that  he  told  the  Petitioner  (who  was  not 
produced  to  give  evidence)  that  two  witnesses  to  the 
marriage  were  necessary;  but  afterwards  alleged  that 
he  thought  that  a  faculty  which  he  got  from  his 
Bishop,  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Gilmartin,  dispensed  with 
the  necessity  of  two  witnesses,  and  rendered  the 
presence  of  one  witness  sufficient.  As  to  this,  the 
Rev.  Joseph  Fahy  lapsed  into  very  great  confusion. 
It  is  not  now  denied  that  the  faculty  from  the  Bishop 
was  confined  merely  to  the  authorization  of  the 
celebration  of  the  marriage  in  a  private  house.  The 
marriage  certainly  took  place  before  but  one  witness, 
Agnes  Kavanagh  the  cook.  The  persons  present 
were  only  four  in  number — viz.,  the  Petitioner,  the 
Respondent,  the  cook  Agnes  Kavanagh,  and  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Fahy.  The  ceremony  of  marriage  was,  as  I 
have  stated,  gone  through  in  the  words  (all  the  words 
having  been  used)  of  the  Roman  Catholic  ritual. 
Did  the  fact  that  there  was  but  one  witness  present 


116   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

invalidate  the  marriage  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  ?  In  my  opinion  it  did. 
The  Decree  of  the  Council  of  Trent  has  been  pro- 
mulgated in  Ireland;  it  is  applicable  to  and  controls 
Roman  Catholic  marriages,  and  makes  the  presence 
of  two  witnesses  necessary.  A  ceremony  not  in 
accordance  with  its  requirements  as  to  the  presence 
of  a  priest  and  of  two  witnesses  is  null  and  void.  Not 
only  is  the  marriage  declared  null  and  void  by  the 
Council  of  Trent,  but  the  parties  purporting  to  con- 
tract are  declared  incompetent  to  do  so,  '*  omnino 
inhabiles  ad  contrahendum."  That  is  to  say,  the 
marriage  is  rendered  invalid  not  by  reason  of  any 
incompetency  of  a  personal  character  attaching  to, 
inherent  in,  the  persons  purporting  to  contract,  but 
by  reason  of  the  non-compliance  with  an  external 
requirement;  that  is  to  say,  the  presence  of  the  two 
witnesses  rendered  necessary  by  that  Decree.  It 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Decree  of  the  Council 
of  Trent,  though  coercive  and  conclusive  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  is  not 
recognized  by  the  law  of  the  land,  the  common  law. 
We  must  bear  this  distinction  in  mind  when  dealing 
with  the  question  whether  the  marriage  with  which 
we  are  here  concerned  was  good  at  common  law.  It 
is  unnecessary  to  consider  how,  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  a  subsequent  valida- 
tion of  the  marriage  would  operate ;  for  no  such  thing 
has  taken  place  in  this  case,  nor  has  any  such  thing 
been  attempted;  in  fact,  the  Petitioner  refused  to 


USSHER  V.  USSHER  117 

give  the  consent  said  to  be  necessary  for  such 
vaUdation. 

But,  as  was  asked  with  much  emphasis  by  Counsel 
during  the  argument,  how  could  the  marriage  be 
validated  if  it  was  altogether  void  ?  Such  a  pro- 
position, it  was  contended,  finds  no  support  from 
"  reason."  I  am  afraid  there  are  many  things  lying 
at  the  root,  at  the  foundation  of  the  Christian  rehgion, 
mysteries  of  faith,  for  an  elucidation  of  which  we 
should  appeal  to  "  reason  "  in  vain.  The  incredulity 
of  scepticism  is  caused  by  making  "  reason  "  the  sole 
and  exclusive  touchstone  of  faith.  One  thing,  how- 
ever, "reason"  imperatively  impresses:  that,  such 
are  the  difficulties  which  beset  every  form  of  the 
Christian  religion,  we  should,  no  matter  how  great 
our  devotion  to  the  faith  of  our  fathers,  practise 
forbearance  and  toleration  towards  all  men  within 
the  Christian  fold,  whatever  their  distinctive  tenets 
may  be.  I  should  not  have  made  these  observations 
but  for  the  argument  so  vigorously  addressed  to  us 
from  the  Bar;  it  is  sufficient  for  me  to  say  that  the 
Decree  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  which  has  been  pro- 
mulgated in  Ireland  and  forms  part  of  the  Roman 
CathoUc  Faith,  declares  a  marriage  with  but  one 
witness  to  be  null  and  void. 

I  now  turn  from  the  law  of  the  Roman  CathoHc 
Church  to  the  law  of  the  realm,  the  common  law. 
What,  then,  is  a  common  law  marriage  ?  Marriages 
that  were  made  without  formalities,  but  by  the  mere 
consent  of  the  parties,  were  at  one  time  regarded  by 


118    REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

many  as  common  law  marriages.  In  order  to  have 
made  such  marriages  effective  there  should  have  been 
a  present  intention  to  make  the  contract,  and  it 
should  have  been  expressed  accordingly;  in  other 
words,  "  per  verba  de  prsesenti."  This  was  accepted 
by  many  as  the  true  view  of  the  essential  conditions 
of  marriage  at  common  law  before  the  well-known 
case  of  Regina  v.  Millis;  it  rested  on  the  maxim 
"  Consensus  facit  matrimonium."  Then  came  the 
case  I  have  mentioned,  that  of  Regina  v.  Millis,  which 
exhausted  legal  erudition  on  the  subject,  but  in 
which  the  noble  and  learned  Lords  who  heard  it 
were  equally  divided  in  opinion  as  to  whether  the 
presence  of  a  clergyman  in  Holy  Orders  was  essential 
to  the  validity  of  a  common  law  marriage.  Next 
we  have  the  equally  well-known  case  of  Beamish  v. 
Beamish,  in  which  the  House  of  Lords  showed  that, 
by  virtue  of  the  rule  "  Semper  praesumitur  pro 
negante,"  the  decision  in  Regina  v.  Millis  made  the 
presence  of  a  clergyman  in  Holy  Orders  necessary  to 
the  validity  of  a  common  law  marriage.  See  Lord 
Campbell's  judgment,  pages  336,  339  (9th  H.L.). 
He  dealt  with  the  matter  at  some  length,  and  con- 
cluded his  observations  as  to  this  head  of  his  argu- 
ment by  saying: 

"  It  is  my  duty  to  say  that  your  Lordships  are 
bound  by  this  decision  (^.e.,  the  decision  in  Regina  v. 
Millis)  as  much  as  if  it  had  been  pronounced  nemine 
dissentiente  "  (p.  338).  Later  on  he  says  that  it  was 
'*  settled  by  that  case  that,   to  constitute  a  valid 


USSHEE  V.  USSHER  119 

marriage  by  the  common  law  of  England,  there  must 
be  present  a  clergyman  in  Orders  conferred  by  a 
Bishop."  Lord  Chelmsford  is  also  reported  to  have 
said  in  the  same  case:  "  The  Queen  v.  Millis  must 
be  taken  to  have  settled  that  at  common  law  marriage 
was  invalid  unless  contracted  in  the  presence  of  a 
priest  in  Holy  Orders";  and,  to  refer  to  the  ante- 
cedent judgment  of  Lord  Cranworth,  it  will  be  seen 
that  he  laid  down  that  "  according  to  the  common 
law  of  England  and  Ireland  a  marriage  celebrated 
without  the  presence  of  a  clergyman  in  Holy  Orders 
was  not  merely  irregular,  censurable  and  punishable, 
but  was  absolutely  void." 

Now,  why  do  I  refer  to  these  passages  from  the 
judgments  of  these  noble  and  learned  Lords  ?  For 
this  reason:  that  they  deal  with  the  law  of  the  land, 
the  common  law;  and  because  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Fahy,  as  has  not  been  denied,  fulfils  the  necessary 
conditions  as  to  being  a  priest  in  Holy  Orders.  The 
substance,  the  essential  condition,  of  a  valid  marriage 
at  common  law  is  what  we  have  here.  The  con- 
tracting parties  intending  then  and  there  to  get 
married  interchanged  their  mutual  consent — the  one 
to  be  husband,  the  other  to  be  wife — in  the  presence 
of  a  priest  in  Holy  Orders.  By  the  word  "  priest " 
I  mean  not  a  mere  physical  sacerdotal  entity,  but 
a  clergyman  present  to  elicit  and  receive  the  consent 
of  the  contracting  parties;  to  see  that  they  intended 
to  get  married  and  mutually  understood  each  other, 
and  who  might  act  as  a  witness  of  the  marriage,  if 


120   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

necessary.  Here  not  only  were  "  verba  de  praesenti  " 
used,  but,  as  I  have  already  stated,  the  whole  of  the 
Catholic  Ritual,  so  far  as  it  is  expressed  in  words, 
was  gone  through.  There  was  here  the  essence,  the 
substance  of  a  common  law  marriage,  clothed,  as  it 
were,  in  ecclesiastical  garments.  I  find  that  in 
treatises  on  marriage  law  the  priest  is  styled  "  the 
official  witness,"  the  "  testis  qualificatus."  At  com- 
mon law  the  presence  of  any  other  witness  was  un- 
necessary to  constitute  a  valid  marriage.  Other 
witnesses  who  might  have  been  present,  but  whose 
presence,  though  essential  under  the  express  pro- 
visions of  the  Council  of  Trent,  was  not  essential  at 
common  law,  were  styled  the  formal  witnesses.  I 
am  therefore  of  opinion  that  there  was  a  good  and 
valid  marriage  according  to  the  law  of  the  realm, 
the  common  law,  between  the  Petitioner  and  the 
Respondent.  It  is  not  necessary  to  refer  to  those 
exceptional  circumstances,  such  as  the  celebration  of 
a  marriage  at  sea,  or  a  case  in  which  it  is  impossible 
to  secure  the  presence  of  a  priest,  mentioned  by  Lord 
Cranworth  in  Beamish  v.  Beamish  at  page  348,  and 
by  Lord  Wensleydale  at  page  352,  of  their  respective 
judgments,  and  in  the  Decree  "  Ne  temere,"  which 
dispense  with  the  necessity  for  the  presence  of  a 
priest;  such  circumstances  do  not  exist  in  the  present 
case.  Before  I  leave  this  part  of  the  case,  I  desire 
to  refer  to  the  Report  made  on  the  Marriage  Law  of 
the  United  Kingdom  dated  1868;  perhaps  the  most 
authoritative    Report    (whether    in    regard    to    the 


USSHER  V.  USSHER  121 

position  and  qualifications  of  the  signatories  to  it  or 
of  the  witnesses  examined  before  them)  that  was  ever 
presented  to  either  House  of  ParHament.  Amongst 
the  signatories  were  five  Lord  Chancellors,  four 
English  and  one  Irish ;  and  among  the  witnesses  were 
several  Roman  Catholic  Bishops,  both  English  and 
Irish.  The  division  under  the  head  of  "  Roman 
Catholic  Marriages "  consists  of  six  short  clauses, 
so  succinct  that  their  very  succinctness  causes  me 
some  compunctious  visitings  lest  my  observations 
be  too  great  a  trespass  on  the  public  time.  All  these 
clauses  are  relevant,  but  I  will  refer  only  to  Clauses  1 
and  6,  which  are  as  follows: 

"  Clause  1.  Until  the  year  1863  marriages  between 
two  Roman  Cathohcs  (being  the  great  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  marriages  annually  solemnized 
in  Ireland)  were  left  to  the  operation  of  the  common 
law,  without  any  statutory  enactment;  and,  so  far 
as  relates  to  the  legal  constitution  of  marriage  between 
such  parties,  this  is  still  the  case;  the  provisions  of 
the  Act  passed  in  that  year  being  directory,  with  a 
view  to  the  registration  only  of  such  marriages." 

Clause  6,  after  referring  to  the  Council  of  Trent, 
the  publication  of  banns,  and  dispensation  with  them 
by  episcopal  licence,  continues  as  follows: 

"  Of  these  matters,  however  (being  requisites  of 
marriage  by  the  internal  economy  only  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church),  the  law  of  the  land  takes  no  cog- 
nizance; and  a  marriage  contracted  in  the  presence  of 
any  Roman  Catholic  friest  in  Ireland  between  two 


122   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

Roman  Catholics,  although  contrary  to  the  law  and 
discifline  of  their  own  Church,  would  be  legally  valid.'' 

My  brother  Kenny  most  appropriately  referred  to 
these  among  other  clauses  of  the  Report;  but  there 
is  one  other  antecedent  clause,  at  page  3  of  the 
Report,  to  the  concluding  lines  of  which,  as  I  think 
them  apposite,  and  entirely  right,  I  shall  refer.  They 
are  as  follows: 

"  In  both  countries  (England  and  Ireland)  pro- 
vision is  made  for  a  general  registry  of  marriages  with 
a  view  to  their  greater  publicity  and  more  authentic 
proof;  but  the  vaUdity  or  proof  of  marriage  is  not 
made  dependent  upon  such  registration  or  upon  any 
other  particular  kind  of  evidence." 

Now  I  come  to  what  I  called  the  added,  the  special, 
objection,  which  was  so  strenuously  pressed  at  the 
Bar.  Herein  lay  indeed  the  stress  of  the  contention 
between  the  parties.  It  was  said  that  the  ceremony 
proceeded  on  the  basis  that  the  consent  of  the  Peti- 
tioner was  given  upon  the  condition  that  if  the 
alleged  marriage  was  not  a  good  marriage  according 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  the 
ceremony  gone  through  should  be  regarded  as  in  no 
way  binding,  and  that  the  Petitioner  should  not  be 
regarded  otherwise  than  as  an  unmarried  man;  that 
the  ceremony  he  went  through  should  be  good  and 
binding  as  a  valid  marriage  in  the  eye  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  or  be  no  marriage  at  all.  That,  as 
it  were,  he  should  be  bound  only  by  the  tie  he  pur- 
ported to  put  on;  that,  in  fact,  if  not  bound  by  that 


USSHER  V.  USSHER  123 

tie,  it  would  be  competent  for  him  to  fling  the  Respon- 
dent aside  as  a  degraded  castaway,  the  mere  refuse 
of  his  sated  passion,  and  the  unhappy  mother  of 
a  bastard  child.     This  gives  us  pause  indeed. 

But  it  is  said  that  hard  cases  make  bad  law;  and 
we  must  accordingly  be  careful  that  any  moral 
reprobation  this  contention  may  provoke  does  not 
blind  us  to  the  facts  or  to  the  law. 

Was  there  then,  in  point  of  fact,  any  such  condition 
as  was  argued  to  exist  ?  Was  there,  to  use  the 
language  of  the  fourth  paragraph  of  the  Petition,  any 
such  express  condition  ?  I  am  of  opinion  that  there 
was  not.  There  was  in  my  opinion  no  such  stipula- 
tion either  express  or  implied.  I  think  the  substance, 
the  essence  of  the  marriage  was  constituted  by  the 
affirmative  answers  given  to  the  questions  of  the 
priest:  by  the  mutual  consent  elicited  by  these 
questions.  I  think  the  Latin  word  "  vis  "  is  equiva- 
lent to  "  Do  you  consent  ?"  and  the  word  "  volo  " 
to  the  words  "  I  do  ";  and  that  all  the  rest  of  the 
formula  is  merely  declaratory,  confirmatory,  symbolical, 
and  ceremonial.  If  this  be  so,  as  I  think  it  is,  there 
was  an  absolute  unconditional  contract  of  marriage; 
and  this  view  is,  I  think,  borne  out  by  the  "  Roman 
Ritual,"  which  consists  merely  of  the  afiirmative 
answers  given  to  the  priest.  The  questions  and 
answers  are  in  language  identical  with  the  language, 
the  questions  and  answers  put  in  this  case.  But 
assuming  this  view,  though  supported  by  the  opinion 
of  many  eminent  Canonists,  not  to  be  the  true  view; 


124   KEMINISCENCES  OF  LOED  O'BRIEN 

and  assuming  that  tlie  substance,  the  essence  of  the 
marriage  is  to  be  found  later  on  in  the  formula  used, 
I  think  the  words,  "  verba  de  praesenti,"  words  used 
in  the  present  tense  according  to  the  directions  given 
in  the  Prayer-Book,  ''  I  take  thee  to  my  wedded 
wife,"  etc.,  and  "  I  take  thee  to  my  wedded  hus- 
band," etc.,  used  respectively  by  the  contracting 
parties,  would  be  a  sufficient  expression  of  their  mutual 
consent  to  constitute  a  marriage.  This  seems  to 
have  been  the  opinion  of  that  most  distinguished 
Judge,  Sir  James  Willes.  See  his  great  judgment  in 
Beamish  v.  Beamish,  upon  which  the  language  of 
eulogy  was  exhausted. 

But  whatever  opinion  may  prevail  (and  I  most 
studiously,  most  emphatically  disclaim  even  the 
semblance  of  dogmatism)  as  to  where  the  essential 
words  lay  in  the  formula  before  us,  I  think  there 
was  cumulative  evidence  of  mutual  consent  regarding 
the  formula  as  a  whole.  This  is,  I  think,  sufficient 
for  the  purpose  of  my  judgment;  but  I  think  it  may 
with  some  plausibility  be  argued,  as  indeed  it  was, 
that  what  follows  the  mutual  acceptance  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  formula — the  mutual  "  taking,"  so  to 
speak — was  not  essential  to  the  constitution  of 
matrimony,  but  represented  merely  the  duties  and 
functions  attaching  to  Christian  marriage;  and  that 
the  troth-plighting  had  reference  merely  to  the  dis- 
charge of  these  duties  and  functions.  The  expression 
"  Ego  conjungo  vos  in  matrimonium  "  was  not,  in 
my  opinion,  essential.     It  was  used  merely  to  give 


USSHER  V.  USSHER  125 

a  religious  character  to  the  ceremony;  to  indicate 
that  the  official  witness,  the  witness  who  attended  on 
the  part  of  the  Church,  saw  nothing  wrong  in  the 
ceremony;  and  the  crossing  of  the  right  hands,  and 
the  blessing,  and  the  giving  of  the  marriage-gifts 
were  merely  symbolical.  The  true  view,  presented 
by  the  actual  position  as  it  existed  at  the  time  of 
the  ceremony,  as  I  ventured  to  point  out  during  the 
progress  of  the  argument,  was  that  the  Petitioner 
not  only  consented  to  be  married  to  the  Respondent, 
but  was  most  eager  and  desirous  to  be  married  to 
her;  to  have  the  marriage  then  and  there  secretly 
celebrated  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Fahy.  He  was,  as 
I  have  said,  equally  urgent  to  get  married  and  to 
have  the  marriage  kept  secret.  The  Rev.  Joseph 
Fahy  may  perhaps  in  his  hurry  and  confusion  have 
confounded  the  official  witness,  the  priest,  with  the 
formal  witness ;  that  is  to  say,  he  may  have  regarded 
himself  as  one  witness,  and  Agnes  Kavanagh  the 
cook  as  another;  but  most  certainly  the  clandestine 
method  of  the  celebration  of  the  marriage  was  much 
to  be  regretted. 

I  thiok  I  may  here  appropriately  quote  a  passage 
from  the  judgment  of  Lord  Chelmsford  in  the  case 
of  Beamish  v.  Beamish  as  to  the  effect  of  a  clandestine 
marriage.     He  says  at  page  357  of  the  report: 

"  But  where  such  a  contract  '  per  verba  de  prae- 
senti '  was  declared  in  the  presence  of  a  person  in 
Holy  Orders  present  for  the  purpose  of  receiving 
such  declaration,  there  was  a  complete  and  valid 


126   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

marriage,  although  in  consequence  of  not  taking 
place  '  in  facie  ecclesise  '  it  was  considered  as  clan- 
destine and  subjected  the  parties  to  the  censure  of 
the  Church.  These  marriages,  however,  were  re- 
garded by  the  ecclesiastical  Courts  as  complete  and 
lawful  marriages,  and  so  they  were  by  the  Courts  of 
common  law,  and  as  drawing  after  them  all  the  legal 
rights  and  consequences  incident  to  marriage;  nor 
were  the  parties  ever  compelled  to  repeat  the  cere- 
mony in  the  face  of  the  Church;  all  which  is  clearly 
explained  by  Lord  Lyndhurst  in  Regina  v.  Millis." 
This  is  the  language  of  Lord  Chelmsford. 

But  to  return  to  the  allegation  that  the  marriage 
was  conditional.  There  certainly  was  nothing  con- 
ditional in  the  questions  of  the  priest,  nor  in  the 
answers  of  the  Petitioner.  The  answer  that  the 
Petitioner  would  marry  according  to  the  rite  of  the 
Church  meant  simply  that  he  was  willing  that  the 
Roman  Catholic  ceremonial  should  be  adopted;  it 
did  not  in  any  way  qualify  his  intention  to  get 
married;  it  simply  meant  that  he  was  willing  that 
the  Roman  Catholic  ceremonial  of  marriage  should 
be  employed;  a  ceremonial  of  marriage  which  was, 
in  my  opinion,  in  no  way  of  a  conditional  character. 

The  words  "  If  Holy  Church  will  it  permit "  were 
at  most  no  more  than  this,  that  the  marriage  should 
be  regarded  as  binding  and  valid  if  nothing  was 
discovered  to  exist  affecting  the  personal  relations 
of  the  contracting  parties  (such  as  consanguinity  or 
affinity)  to  justify  their  separation  in  the  eye  of  the 


USSHER  V.  USSHER  127 

Cliurcli,  and  require  dissolution  of  the  marriage  bond. 
For  my  own  part,  I  think  that  these  words  had  no 
reference  to  what  I  have  described  as  an  external 
witness,  the  necessity  for  whose  presence  was  created 
by  the  ordinance  of  the  Council  of  Trent.  Indeed, 
these  words  are  found  in  rituals  which  were  in  use 
long  before  the  ordinance  of  the  Council  of  Trent  was 
promulgated  or  even  existed. 

I  think,  too,  that  it  may  be  very  plausibly  argued 
that  these  words,  which  occur  after  the  statement 
of  the  obligations  and  duties  of  marriage — at  the  end 
of  the  habendum,  so  to  speak — are  but  a  vague 
expression  of  deference  to  the  Church,  similar  to  the 
analogous  expressions  "  Please  God,"  "  If  it  please 
God,"  "  With  the  blessing  of  God,"  "  God  wiUing." 
Indeed,  in  our  own  courts  we  constantly  hear  the 
phrase  "  If  your  Lordship  pleases  " ;  and  in  the  House 
of  Commons  members  not  infrequently  make  use  of 
the  formula  "  With  the  permission  of  the  House." 
These  phrases  are  accepted  as  mere  expressions  of 
courtesy,  and  are  in  no  way  restrictive  of  exhaustive 
argument  or  elaborate  discussion.  The  mere  occa- 
sional use  of  these  words  (for  they  are  found  only  in 
some  of  the  rituals)  tends  to  bear  out  the  view  that 
they  are,  as  I  have  said,  a  mere  vague  expression  of 
deference  to  the  Church.  They  are  altogether 
omitted  in  some  of  the  rituals.  For  example,  they 
are  not  found  in  the  "  Roman  Ritual,"  nor  in  the 
ritual  which  is  in  use  in  America;  and  in  the  old 
Sarum  Ritual  other  words  are  employed.    Nor  are 


128    REMINISCENCES  OF  LOED  O'BRIEN 

the  words  found  in  the  York  Missal;  while  in  the 
Hereford  Manual  and  Missal  the  words  are  "  as  Holy- 
Church  has  so  ordained."  Such  words  do  not,  in 
my  opinion,  make  the  marriage  conditional;  they  do 
not  qualify  the  absolute  character  and  effect  of  the 
mutual  consent  already  given  in  the  presence  of  the 
priest.  The  interchange  of  consent  and  the  inter- 
vention of  the  priest  created  in  a  legal  point  of  view 
the  contract ;  and  from  an  ecclesiastical  point  of  view 
conferred  the  sacrament  of  marriage.  The  consent 
should  be  freely  and  deHberately  given  without  error, 
fear,  or  force,  duress  or  fraud,  by  persons  competent 
to  contract;  and  should  be  expressed  in  words  or  by 
some  visible  sign.  All  these  conditions  were  fulfilled 
in  the  present  case. 

Though  a  priest  be  present,  it  is,  in  the  language 
of  a  distinguished  Canonist  (Devine  on  "  The  Law 
of  Christian  Marriage,"  page  57),  "  the  well-settled 
doctrine  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  that  the 
contracting  parties  are  themselves  the  ministers  of 
the  sacrament,  and  not  the  officiating  priest,  who 
only  confirms  and  blesses  the  marriage,  and  can  only 
be  called  the  minister  of  its  solemnity."  This  ratifi- 
cation and  blessing  was,  I  think,  intended  to  be 
expressed  by  the  phrase  "  Ego  conjungo  vos  in 
matrimonium."  The  priest,  notwithstanding  the 
form,  the  literal  import  of  the  words,  does  not  unite 
in  matrimony;  the  marriage  union  is  not  created  by 
him;  he  merely  expresses  approval  on  the  part  of  the 
Church    of   what   has    already    taken   place.     'This 


USSHER  V.  USSHER  129 

expression  "  Ego  conjungo  vos  in  matrimonium " 
relates  to  and  is  conversant  with  the  ceremonial, 
with  what  is  non-essential,  with  what  is  merely 
ceremonial  and  symbolical,  and  not  with  the  essence 
and  substance  of  matrimony;  the  marriage  has  already 
taken  place  by  the  interchange  of  mutual  consent, 
"  per  verba  de  praesenti,"  in  the  presence,  and  with 
the  intervention,  of  the  priest.  And  the  fact  that 
the  marriage  union  has  been  already  effected  should 
be  borne  in  mind  when  construing  the  words  "  if 
Holy  Church  will  it  permit."  These  words  occur 
after  an  absolute  marriage  has  taken  place,  and,  in 
my  opinion,  do  not  qualify  it. 

With  reference  to  the  presence  of  a  priest.  Lord 
Wensleydale  in  his  judgment  of  Beamish  v.  Beamish 
(page  350)  says: 

"  The  elaborate  opinion  of  the  consulted  Judges 
which  has  been  delivered  to  us  by  Mr.  Justice  Willes 
gives  very  ample  and  satisfactory  reasons  why  the 
presence  of  a  third  person,  a  clergyman,  should  be 
required.  They  suggest  that  there  must  be  three 
reasons  for  requiring  his  presence :  First,  that  it  may 
be  that  he  is  to  be  a  representative  of  the  Church,  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  a  religious  character  to  the 
ceremony,  and  invoking  from  the  Almighty  a  blessing 
on  the  union,  for  that  is  the  only  sense  in  which  a 
blessing  can  be  given  by  human  lips.  Secondly,  that 
he  must  be  present  as  a  trustworthy  witness  to  the 
contract,  to  see  that  the  parties  to  it  fully  understand 
each  other,  that  they  really  mean  to  contract  and 

9 


130   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

take  each  other  from  that  tune  for  husband  and  wife, 
and  to  bear  witness  thereafter  to  others  to  that  fact. 
Thirdly,  that  he  has  a  power  to  prevent  the  marriage 
from  taking  place,  if  a  just  impediment  is  brought  to 
his  knowledge,  such  as  consanguinity  or  affinity 
within  the  prohibited  degrees." 

Here  was  no  impediment  as  regards  consanguinity 
or  affinity.  The  parties  fully  understood  each  other; 
and  the  priest  purported  to  pronounce  a  blessing. 
Whatever  the  conduct  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Fahy  was, 
he  was  present,  he  saw  what  was  going  on,  and  was 
therefore  competent  to  give  evidence  of  the  marriage. 
And  since  the  ceremony  took  place  nothing  has  super- 
vened to  invalidate  the  marriage. 

But,  as  to  the  so-called  conditional  contract,  can 
it  be  now  successfully  contended,  after  the  marriage 
has  been  consummated  and  a  child  born,  that  the 
condition  any  longer  subsists— subsists  for  what  ? 
To  ma^ke  a  concubine  of  the  wife,  to  show  that  she 
has  lived  in  a  state  of  concubinage,  and  that  the  child 
is  illegitimate.  Such  a  condition,  if  it  ever  existed, 
was  certainly  put  an  end  to  by  the  consummation 
of  the  marriage  and  the  birth  of  a  child.  The 
Petitioner  must,  under  such  circumstances,  be  taken 
in  the  eye  of  the  law  to  have  renounced  any  such 
condition. 

But  could  such  a  condition  be  at  all  valid  and 
binding  ?  I  am  careful  not  to  refer  to  a  marriage 
**  per  verba  de  futuro."  There  may  be,  I  think,  a 
conditional  contract  in  tliLi  way.     A  man  and   a 


USSHEE  V.  USSHER  131 

woman  may  contract  to  be  married  after  the  lapse 
of  a  certain  time  on  condition  that  the  father  of  the 
woman  provides  at  that  future  time  a  fortune  agreed 
upon,  say  £10,000.  If  that  sum  was  not  produced 
at  the  time  agreed  upon  the  contract  could  not  be 
enforced.  But  take  the  case  of  a  marriage  "  per 
verba  de  praesenti,"  which  gives  an  immediate  right 
to  cohabitation  and  consummation;  can  such  a 
marriage,  consistently  with  the  existence  of  such  a 
right,  be  made  subject  to  defeasance  ? 

But  more  especially,  can  it  be  subject  to  defea- 
sance if  the  right  to  cohabitation  and  consummation, 
as  in  this  case,  has  been  exercised  ?  Such  a  condi- 
tion would,  in  my  opinion,  be  invalid  as  opposed  to 
public  policy,  which  favours  the  unity  of  the  spouses 
as  preservative  of  morality,  and  also  the  procreation 
and  upbringing  of  children  within  the  marriage 
bond. 

But  how  did  the  contract  become  conditional  ? 
I  ta,ke  it  that  in  order  that  a  contract  be  conditional 
the  condition  must  be  present  to  the  mind  of  the  maker 
when  the  contract  is  being  made.  Can  it  be  said  that 
the  Petitioner  knew  anything  about  the  words  "  if 
Holy  Church  will  it  permit "  till  long  after  the  cere- 
mony had  taken  place  ?  These  words  are  not  re- 
ferred to  in  the  Petition;  and  it  is  only  some  time 
after  the  acute  professional  mind  had  been  brought 
to  consider  the  matter  that  any  reference  was  made 
to  them.  They  appear  for  the  first  time,  so  far  as 
the  pleadings  are  concerned,  in  the  reply.     I  think 


132   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

it  is  quite  clear  that  the  Petitioner  never,  consciously 
at  least,  made  a  conditional  contract. 

But  let  me  refer  to  what  I  consider  supplies  an 
analogy.  According  to  Canon  Law,  a  marriage 
"  ratum  et  consummatum "  is  indissoluble.  (See 
Devine  on  "  The  Law  of  Christian  Marriage,"  page 
92.)  Here,  no  doubt,  in  the  eye  of  the  Church  the 
ceremony  did  not  amount  to  ''  matrimonium  ratum  "; 
it  was  not  properly  contracted,  as  the  essential  con- 
dition of  the  presence  of  two  witnesses  was  not  com- 
plied with;  but  there  was  a  good  contract  at  common 
law  "  per  verba  de  prsesenti  "  in  the  presence  of  a 
priest,  and  this  was  followed  by  consummation. 
Certainly  the  marriage  that  was  celebrated  was 
attended  by  the  result  that  there  could  be  no  "  resti- 
tutio in  integrum."  And  it  is  not  pretended,  or  in 
any  way  suggested,  that  there  was  on  the  part  of 
the  Respondent  any  misconduct  which  would  justify 
divorce — in  this  country  separation  "  a  mensa  et 
toro,"  or  in  England  divorce  "  a  vinculo  matrimonii." 

One  remaining  topic.  At  the  time  the  Report  on 
the  marriage  laws  was  made,  the  19th  Geo.  II.  was 
still  in  existence,  and  rendered,  as  we  know,  the 
marriage  by  a  priest  of  two  Protestants  or  of  two 
persons,  one  of  whom  had  been  or  had  professed  him- 
self or  herself  to  be  a  Protestant  at  any  time  within 
twelve  months  of  the  alleged  marriage,  null  and  void ; 
but  this  Act  was  repealed  many  years  before  the 
marriage  with  which  we  are  now  concerned  took 
place  by  the  33rd  and  34:th  Vict.;  and  the  repealing 


USSHER  V.  USSHER  133 

Act  left  Roman  Catholics  subject  to  no  statutory 
disability  as  to  a  contract  of  marriage  between  them- 
selves. It  will  be  remembered,  as  I  pointed  out  in 
the  earlier  part  of  my  judgment,  that  the  Petition  in 
this  case  was  presented  on  the  hypothesis  that  both 
Petitioner  and  Respondent  were  Roman  Catholics. 
(See  par.  1  of  the  Petition,  and  par.  2  of  the  Peti- 
tioner's affidavit,  where  it  is  alleged  that  both  Peti- 
tioner and  Respondent  were  Roman  Catholics  at  the 
time  of  the  ceremony  of  marriage.)  And  the  last 
section  (sec.  42)  of  the  33rd  and  34:th  Vict.,  which 
provides  that  that  statute  and  the  7th  and  8th  Vict, 
should  be  read  together  and  construed  as  one  Act, 
removes  all  the  difficulty  which  was  alleged  to  attach 
to  the  third  section  of  the  7th  and  8th  Vict. ;  because, 
there  being  no  limitation  of  time  as  to  the  profession 
of  Protestantism  existing  at  the  moment  when  the 
marriage  took  place,  the  Petitioner  and  Respondent 
were  then  free  to  contract  as  Roman  Catholics:  a 
marriage  could  legally  be  celebrated  between  them. 
I  am  accordingly  of  opinion  that  the  marriage  which 
took  place  between  the  Petitioner  and  the  Respon- 
dent was  a  valid  marriage  according  to  the  law  of  the 
realm,  according  to  the  common  law,  and  that  the 
Petition  should  be  dismissed  with  costs. 


BY  THE  EDITOR 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

EXPEET   WITNESSES — SERJEANT  ARMSTRONG — LORD   RUSSELL — 
MR.   GLADSTONE — LORD   o'hAGAN 

The  last  time  my  father  discussed  this  book  of 
reminiscences  with  me  he  said:  "  See  that  my  judg- 
ment in  the  Ussher  case  is  fully  included,  inasmuch 
as  it  attracted  a  good  deal  of  interest  on  account  of 
the  recent  Papal  decree  '  Ne  Temere.'"  Ussher  v. 
Ussher  was  the  last  judgment  of  importance  he  gave; 
his  resignation  took  place  shortly  afterwards. 

He  prepared  his  judgments  very  carefully,  and 
worded  them  in  concise  and  simple  language  so  that 
they  could  be  easily  followed  by  those  unversed  in 
legal  subtleties  or  in  legal  phraseology. 

I  think  he  attached  very  little  importance  to  the 
testimony  of  experts,  were  they  experts  in  hand- 
writing or  anything  else.  I  was  present  in  court 
when  he  was  trying  a  case  in  which  a  thief  had  broken 
into  a  house  and  taken  a  number  of  valuable  things, 
leaving  as  a  clue  to  his  identity  finger-prints  on  a 
dusty  bottle. 

These  finger-prints  were  photographed,  and  an 
expert  gave  evidence  as  to  the  vertical  finger  lines 

135 


136    KEMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

on  the  bottle  being  identical  with  the  vertical  lines 
on  the  prisoner's  fingers.  The  expei-t  went  on  to  say 
that,  in  his  opinion,  the  vertical  lines  on  people's 
hands  were  always  different.  My  father,  with  an 
air  of  incredulity,  asked  the  witness  if  he  would 
undertake  to  swear  that,  among  millions  of  people 
in  the  world,  no  two  human  beings  could  be  found 
with  identical  finger  lines. 

On  one  occasion  he  had  to  try  a  case  the  issue  of 
which  depended  on  the  exact  meaning  of  a  word  in 
the  Irish  language.  The  services  of  a  professor  of 
Irish,  who  had  written  several  books  in  the  Irish 
language,  were  enlisted,  yet  he  did  not  speak  or  under- 
stand what  the  Irish  peasant  so  aptly  calls  "  cradle  " 
Irish — that  is  to  say,  he  had  not  heard  it  spoken  from 
the  cradle,  but  had  acquired  it  late  in  life.  The  pro- 
fessor, according  to  himself,  was  a  very  efficient 
Irish  scholar. 

"  I  believe  you  have  written  many  books  in  the 
Irish  language  ?"  asked  the  Chief  Justice,  with  a 
bland  smile. 

"  Yes,  my  lord,"  answered  the  professor. 

"  You  have,  I  understand,  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  language  ?" 

''  Yes,  my  lord." 

My  father,  who,  when  a  boy,  had  picked  up  a  little 
Irish  from  the  peasants  in  Clare,  said :  "  Now,  Pro- 
fessor, can  you  tell  me  how  to  say  this  simple  sen- 
tence in  Irish — Have  you  seen  a  hare  pass  by  here  ?" 

The  expert  admitted  defeat.     "  Well,"  continued 


SERJEANT  ARMSTRONG  137 

the  Chief  Justice,  "  can  you  say,  Are  the  hounds  in 
sight  ?"  The  Professor  had  again  to  acknowledge 
himself  defeated.  "  And  yet,"  said  his  interrogator, 
"  you  call  yourself  an  Irish  scholar.  I  fear  your 
Irish  is  not  of  any  practical  use."  Turning  to  one  of 
the  Irish-speaking  witnesses,  my  father  said  a  few 
words  to  him  in  Irish.  The  man,  who  was  overjoyed 
at  being  addressed  in  his  own  tongue,  left  the  court 
probably  under  the  impression  that  the  Judge  spoke 
Irish  fluently. 

To  Serjeant  Armstrong  as  a  cross-examiner  my 
father  conceded  the  palm.  In  his  opinion  the  Ser- 
jeant was  the  most  skilful  cross-examiner  the  Bar 
of  Ireland  ever  produced.  Once  the  Serjeant  was 
cross-examining  an  expert  on  handwriting  in  a  case 
of  forgery.  The  expert,  plausible  and  self-sufEcient, 
ignored  the  Serjeant  as  much  as  possible,  and  addressed 
himself  almost  entirely  to  the  Bench.  Serjeant  Arm- 
strong seemed  to  acquiesce  in  all  the  witness  said, 
and  as  he  was  about  to  leave  the  witness-box,  po- 
litely asked  him  to  stay  one  moment  and  tell  the 
Judge  and  jury  about  the  dog.  "  How  about  the 
dog?"  inquired  the  astonished  Judge.  "Just  tell 
his  lordship,"  said  the  Serjeant  suavely,  "  whether 
Lord  Chief  Baron  Pigott  said  he  would  not  hang  a 
dog  on  your  evidence  when  you  appeared  before  him." 
The  Serjeant  then  mentioned  a  famous  case  of  for- 
gery, and  the  discomfited  expert  had  to  admit  the 
truth  of  Serjeant  Armstrong's  statement,  who  thus 
won  his  case. 


138    REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

I  have  heard  my  father,  when  speaking  of  Lord 
Russell  of  Killowen,  express  admiration  of  his  skill 
in  extracting  the  truth  from  a  reluctant  witness, 
"  though,"  said  my  father,  "  I  could  never  under- 
stand why  the  Press  gave  him  such  kudos  for  his 
cross-examination  of  Pigott  in  the  Parnell  Commis- 
sion, inasmuch  as  a  poor,  miserable,  cowardly  crea- 
ture such  as  Pigott  was  easily  shown  up.  Russell  did 
many  more  difficult  things  than  his  cross-examination 
of  Pigott." 

My  father  often  said  that  he  considered  Isaac  Butt 
the  most  eloquent  speaker  he  had  heard,  and  that  on 
first  hearing  Gladstone  he  experienced  a  feeling  of 
disappointment,  which  changed  to  one  of  pleasurable 
appreciation  when  he  became  accustomed  to  the 
Northern  burr. 

I  recollect  hearing  Mr.  Gladstone  very  severely 
criticized  in  my  father's  presence.  Some  denounced 
Gladstone  for  having  abandoned  Gordon;  others, 
on  account  of  his  Irish  policy  and  his  Home  Rule 
Bill.  My  father  listened  in  silence  for  a  time  and 
then  said:  "  There  was  one  thing  about  Gladstone  I 
could  never  forgive  or  get  over."  "  What  could  you 
never  forgive  or  get  over.  Chief  Justice  ?"  queried 
his  listeners.  "  His  transcendent  ability,"  was  the 
answer. 

My  father  always  maintained  that  the  most  elo- 
quent address  he  had  ever  heard  at  the  Bar  was 
delivered  by  the  late  Lord  O'Hagan  in  defence  of  an 
Italian  Jesuit  who  had  held  a  mission  somewhere 


LORD  O'HAGAN  139 

near  Dublin,  and  had  preached  against  the  evils 
which  accrue  from  reading  pernicious  literature.  The 
Jesuit  suggested  that  those  possessing  any  immoral 
books  should  bring  them  into  the  chapel  yard  and 
burn  them.  Accordingly  numerous  books  were  placed 
in  barrows  and  wheeled  into  the  chapel  yard,  where  a 
fire  was  lighted  and  the  books  destroyed.  It  was 
alleged  that  among  the  books  thus  burnt  was  a  Bible. 
Father  Petcherini,  the  Jesuit,  indignantly  denied 
all  knowledge  of  the  occurrence.  Lord  O'Hagan,  in 
the  most  eloquent  of  speeches,  pointed  out  what  in- 
finite service  the  CathoHc  Church  had  rendered 
Christianity  by  translating  the  Scriptures  and  pre- 
serving them  throughout  troublous  times  when  the 
light  of  faith  was  all  but  extinguished. 


CHAPTEK   XXIV 

AN   ELDERLY    LOTHARIO 

Once  I  visited  the  Four  Courts  while  my  father  was 
hearing  an  amusing  case  of  breach  of  promise,  which 
entertained  me  much. 

An  action  was  brought  by  a  lady  against  a  decrepit 
old  gentleman,  who  was  known  as  the  Chevalier 
Bergin.  The  first  meeting  between  the  couple  had 
taken  place  in  the  grounds  of  some  private  hospital 
or  sanatorium.  The  gentleman  was  elderly,  having 
reached  his  threescore  years  and  ten.  The  lady 
seemed  to  have  "  rushed  "  him,  inasmuch  as  she  even 
fixed  the  wedding  date  without  having  consulted  him. 
The  defendant  introduced  himself  to  the  lady  as  the 
"  Chevalier  Bergin,  a  man  of  wealth  and  title,"  and 
the  plaintif!,  who  was  badly  off,  evidently  thought 
"  Here's  a  good  thing,"  or,  perhaps,  "  Here's  a  soft 
thing."  The  lady  whose  affections  were  tampered 
with  admitted  that  she  was  twenty-eight  years  of  age, 
though  she  hardly  looked  so  much  as  she  stood  in  the 
witness-box,  clad  in  black,  and  wearing  a  long  veil 
over  her  hat,  the  folds  of  which  graceful  head-gear 
fell  almost  to  her  feet.  From  the  Bench  came  a 
polite  request  that  she  would  raise  her  veil  so  that 
the  court  might  see  what  the  Chevalier  saw.     The 

140 


AN  ELDERLY  LOTHARIO  141 

lady  was  reluctant  to  comply  with  this  request,  but 
Mr.  Healy,  who  appeared  for  the  defendant,  insisted 
that  she  should  "  dis-cocoon  herself,"  and  objected 
to  her  coming  into  court  hooded  like  a  "  Turkish 
lady."  She  then  proceeded  to  unwind  her  yashmak- 
like head-dress,  and  when  her  becoming  draperies 
were  removed,  she  seemed  older  than  she  had  at  first 
appeared.  Her  birth  certificate  was  produced,  and 
showed  that  she  had  courageously  deducted  eighteen 
years  from  her  age.  When  examined,  she  said  that 
the  Chevalier  became  so  enamoured  of  her  at  first 
sight  that  she  thought  it  necessary  to  say  her  name 
was  Mrs.  Keegan,  in  order  to  "  put  him  off."  On 
hearing  that  she  was  married,  he  seemed  so  much 
disappointed  that  she  relented,  and  confessed  that 
she  was  Miss  Keegan;  whereupon  this  elderly 
Lothario  devoutly  exclaimed,  "  Thank  God !"  The 
lady  spoke  of  walks  in  the  romantic  and  shady 
grounds  of  the  sanatorium,  where  they  discussed 
foreign  travels,  and  defendant  made  her  repeat 
after  him  that  she  would  be  true  to  him  while  she 
lived,  the  lady  taking  care  to  do  so  in  the  presence 
of  a  witness. 

Much  amusement  was  created  in  court  by  the  cross- 
examination  of  the  Chevalier,  a  doddering  old  gentle- 
man, who  boasted  of  his  successes  with  the  fair  sex, 
after  which  brag  Serjeant  Moriarty*  scanned  him  for 
a  moment,  with  a  whimsical  expression  of  counte- 
nance, and  then  pleascintly  remarked: 

*  Afterwards  Lord  Justice. — Editor. 


142   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

*'  Chevalier,  I  had  no  idea  that  you  were  such  a 
devil  of  a  fellow." 

The  old  gentleman  thereupon  flew  into  a  passion, 
and  threatened  to  call  out  the  Serjeant,  adding,  **  If 
I  had  my  health  I  would  be  in  better  form  for  you." 
The  Serjeant,  nothing  daunted  by  the  Chevalier's 
challenge,  proceeded  to  assure  the  defendant  that  he 
was  in  excellent  form,  and  the  very  pink  of  courtesy. 

"  I  ought  to  be,  because  of  the  title  I  bear,"  the 
Chevalier  pompously  remarked. 

When  asked  if  he  had  ever  put  his  arms  round  the 
lady,  he  ungallantly  said :  *'  It  was  she  put  her  arms 
round  about  me  first — it  was  she  who  first  kissed 
me,"  he  added  emphatically  amidst  much  laughter. 

Witnesses  were  called  to  give  evidence  as  to  a 
promise  of  marriage.  It  was  quite  evident  that  the 
Chevalier  had  undoubtedly  promised,  in  the  presence 
of  witnesses,  to  marry  the  plaintiff,  and  the  Judge, 
when  summing  up,  pointed  out  to  the  jury  that  the 
question  for  them  to  decide  was.  Did  the  defendant 
promise  to  marry  the  plaintiff,  and  if  he  did,  to  what 
damages  was  she  entitled  ?  With  regard  to  the  lady's 
age,  he  said :  "  It  has  become  almost  a  maxim  of  law 
in  these  courts  that  a  lady  is  entitled  to  take  a  few 
years  off  her  age,  but  taking  off  eighteen  years  is 
going  a  little  too  far !" 

The  jury  found  for  the  plaintiff,  who  was  awarded 
damages. 


CHAPTEK  XXV 

AN   AWKWARD   PREDICAMENT — FRIENDS — JUDGE   WEBB 

Once,  through  a  stupid  mistake  on  the  part  of  a 
railway  porter,  my  father  was  placed  in  a  somewhat 
awkward  predicament.  He  was  a  Q.C.,  at  the  time, 
and  was  travelling  to  the  south,  to  appear  in  some  big 
case  at  the  Assizes.  He  had  with  him  a  light  port- 
manteau, which  contained  his  silk  gown  and  wig. 
Travelling  by  the  train  was  a  Bishop,  who  was  going 
to  the  same  place  to  hold  a  Confirmation  service. 
He,  too,  had  a  small  portmanteau.  When  the  train 
reached  the  station  for  which  my  father  was  bound, 
a  fuddled  porter  gave  him  the  Bishop's  portmanteau. 
My  father  hurried  to  the  court-house  and  opened 
the  portmanteau  with  a  view  to  robing.  What  was 
his  dismay  to  discover  instead  of  his  wig  and  gown 
a  mitre,  cross,  and  gorgeous  vestments  !  The  Bishop 
was  equally  surprised  to  find  that  the  garb  in  which 
he  was  to  administer  Confirmation  were  a  wig  and 
gown.  A  member  of  the  junior  Bar  made  a  very 
clever  and  amusing  caricature  of  an  eminent  Q.C. 
wrathfully  pacing  up  and  down,  crowned  with  a 
mitre,  while  the  Judge  of  Assizes  sat  on  the  Bench 
waiting,  like  patience  on  a  monument,  for  the  pro- 
ceedings to  begin. 

143 


144   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

My  father  had  a  large  and  miscellaneous  acquain- 
tance, comprising,  as  he  himself  said,  all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  men.  He  numbered  amongst  his  dearest 
friends  his  schoolfellow.  Lord  Chancellor  Naish;  Sir 
Edward  Carson,  who  was  his  devil,  and  whom  he  was 
wont  to  describe  as  "  Bon  Liable  " ;  and  Lord  London- 
derry— kindest  and  best  of  friends.  Of  the  Judges, 
my  father  held  in  affectionate  regard  Lord  Chief 
Baron  Palles,  Lord  Justice  Holmes,  Mr.  Justice  Gib- 
son, and  Mr.  Justice  Ross.  He  had  a  sincere  affection 
for  Lord  Atkinson,  who  was  closely  associated  with 
him  in  many  criminal  prosecutions,  was  called  to  the 
Bar  at  the  same  time,  and  took  silk  on  the  same  day. 

Dr.  Webb,  a  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  and  after- 
wards a  County  Court  Judge,  was  a  fairly  frequent 
visitor  at  our  house  in  my  childhood.  He  was  the 
author  of  some  philosophical  works,  and  on  one  occa- 
sion when  he  came  to  see  us  brought  with  him  as  a 
present  a  book  which  he  had  himself  written,  and 
which  was  entitled  "  The  Veil  of  Isis,"  in  which  work 
he  gives  a  summary  of  Berkeleianism.  The  learned 
Doctor  began  to  explain  Bishop  Berkeley's  philosophy, 
and  endeavoured  to  persuade  his  hearers  that  material 
things  exist  only  in  idea,  and  that  the  physical  uni- 
verse is  not  an  independent  reaUty.  My  father,  who 
was  not  given  to  metaphysical  reasoning  and  was, 
above  all,  practical,  listened  for  a  time  to  Dr.  Webb's 
elaborate  subtleties,  but  at  last  said  impatiently: 
"  Webb,  may  I  knock  your  head  against  that  book- 
case ?  and  you  can  then  tell  me  if  it  exists  materially  " ; 


JUDGE  WEBB  145 

at  which  remark  the  Doctor  laughed  good-humouredly 
and  said :  "  I  will  give  you  another  book  more  to  your 
taste,"  and  shortly  afterwards  sent  him  a  presenta- 
tion copy  of  his  translation  of  Goethe's  "  Faust," 
with  which  work  my  father  was  charmed.  So  de- 
lighted was  he  with  it  that,  there  and  then,  though 
quite  little  girls,  we  were  made  to  read  "  Faust " 
in  the  original,  also  to  commit  to  memory  many 
of  the  principal  songs,  and  compare  them  with  the 
Doctor's  translations,  which  my  father  considered 
finer  than  Taylor's,  perhaps  because  of  his  regard  for 
the  translator. 

During  Judge  Webb's  last  illness  my  father  went 
to  see  him  frequently.  On  the  occasion  of  the  last 
visit,  I  recollect  him  saying,  "  I  have  been  sitting 
with  poor  Webb.  It  was  a  melancholy  spectacle  to 
see  him  so  weak;  the  end  can't  be  far  off.  He  was 
having  lunch  when  I  arrived,  and  insisted  on  my 
having  a  last  glass  of  wine  with  him.  It  is  sad  to 
see  so  great  an  intellect,  and  so  good  a  heart,  going 
the  way  of  all  flesh.  Those  lines  he  was  so  fond  of  in 
'  Faust '  kept  coming  into  my  mind  while  I  was  with 
him.  What  would  not  poor  Webb  give  to  be  young 
once  again !" 

The  lines  referred  to  were  those  from  the  Prelude 
to  "  Faust."  Dr.  Webb  translated  them  thus  feli- 
citously : 

Oh,  give  me  back  the  time  of  growing, 

When  I  myself  was  in  my  Spring, 
And  when  the  fount  of  song  was  flowing 

With  freshj  unbroken  carolling — 

10 


146    REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

When  all  was  haze,  and  all  illusion, 
When  wonder  lurked  in  every  flower 
And  blooms  in  thousands  decked  the  bower, 

And  dales  were  one  divine  profusion. 

Naught  had  I,  but  enough  for  youth 

Delight  in  dreams,  and  longing  after  truth, 
Give  me  the  yet  untamed  emotion, 
The  bliss  that  tingled  into  pain. 

The  power  of  hatred,  love's  devotion. 
Oh,  give  me  back  my  youth  again.' 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE   THEATRE — SPURGEON — CHRISTIAN   SCIENCE — DINNER 
WITH    QUEEN   VICTORIA 

In  his  young  days  my  father  was  something  of  a 
theatre-goer.  He  loved  all  Shakespeare's  plays,  but 
"  Hamlet  "  was  his  favourite.  In  the  role  of  Hamlet, 
Mr.  Forbes  Robertson  gave  him  more  pleasure  than 
any  other  actor.  I  remember  him  telling  me  that 
when  he  was  at  Trinity  College  he  attended  a  repre- 
sentation of  "  Hamlet "  given  at  the  old  Theatre 
Royal,  Dublin.  The  play  was  wretchedly  rendered, 
the  ghost's  part  being  played  by  an  actor  who 
ranted  in  the  most  ludicrous  fashion.  Great  was 
my  father's  delight  when  a  voice  from  the  gods 
suddenly  called  out:  "  The  divil  such  a  ghost  I  ever 
seen  !"  a  remark  which  much  disconcerted  not  only 
the  ghost,  but  also  Hamlet. 

When  I  was  a  child,  my  father,  if  he  wished  to 
give  me  a  treat,  would  take  me  to  the  theatre  to  see 
Irving  and  Miss  Ellen  Terry  in  one  of  Shakespeare's 
plays,  but  I  could  rarely  prevail  upon  him  to  bring 
me  to  a  musical  comedy. 

He  was  an  admirer  of  Sir  Herbert  Tree,  and  in- 
variably went  to  see  him  act  when  he  came  to  Dublin. 
As  MalvoHo  in  ''  Twelfth  Night,"  he  considered  Tree 

147 


148    REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

quite  inimitable.  Sir  Herbert  and  Lady  Tree  were 
friends  of  his,  and  we  generally  contrived  to  see  some- 
thing of  them  when  they  came  to  Ireland. 

My  father,  when  a  young  barrister,  acted  occa- 
sionally in  private  theatricals.  These  performances 
generally  took  place  in  Clare,  where  my  uncle,  in 
order  to  provide  amusement  for  his  guests,  im- 
provised a  theatre,  utilizing  an  empty  house  on  his 
estate  for  the  purpose.  In  that  remote  district  the 
guests,  who  were  quite  dependent  on  their  own 
resources  for  entertainment,  acted  in  many  little 
pieces,  much  to  their  amusement  and  satisfaction. 
The  audience  was  not  critical,  and  consisted  chiefly 
of  tenants.  The  neighbours  were  few,  and  motors 
had  still  to  be  invented.  One  night  it  fell  to  my 
father's  lot  to  impersonate  an  ardent  and  impoverished 
lover,  who  urged,  in  impassioned  language,  a  young 
and  beautiful  lady  to  elope  with  him.  He  acted  his 
part  so  convincingly,  and  with  so  much  spirit,  that 
a  countryman,  carried  away  by  the  acting,  forgot  it 
was  only  acting,  and  called  out,  "  Shame  on  you,  Mr. 
Peter,  with  a  wife  of  your  own  at  home  !" 

One  of  my  very  early  recollections  is  that  of  my 
father  telling  me  that  he  was  going  to  the  Tabernacle 
to  hear  Spurgeon  preach,  and  proposing  that  I  should 
accompany  him.  I  am  ashamed  to  say  that  up  to 
that  time  I  had  never  heard  of  Spurgeon.  On  being 
told  that  he  was  London's  greatest  preacher,  I  eagerly 
assented.  So  many  years  have  elapsed  since  then 
that  I  have  forgotten  much,  and  have  but  a  dim 


SPUKGEON  149 

recollection  of  a  large  building,  an  enormous  crowd, 
and  a  stout  man  who  had  a  magical  voice,  which  he 
managed  most  skilfully;  it  never  seemed  loud  and  at 
times  sank  to  a  whisper,  yet  it  could  be  heard  in 
every  nook  and  corner  of  the  edifice.  Part  of  the 
sermon  I  have  forgotten,  though  I  recollect  that  it 
was  on  the  evils  of  self-righteousness  and  the  virtue 
of  humiHty.  The  preacher  did  not,  as  it  were,  preach 
to  the  congregation,  but  rather  talked  to  them  in  a 
friendly  maimer.  He  at  once  established  a  feeling 
of  friendship  between  himself  and  each  one  present: 
one  felt  he  was  a  great  humanitarian  whose  "  human 
heart  was  touched  by  human  things."  He  had  the 
power  of  making  one  laugh  or  weep  with  him.  He 
told  us  a  little  story  to  illustrate  the  evil  of  self- 
righteousness.  He  said  that  some  Prince,  visiting 
a  prison  incognito,  was  taken  into  the  prison  yard 
by  the  governor  of  the  jail.  The  prisoners  were 
exercising,  and  the  Prince  questioned  each  man  as 
to  the  reason  of  his  imprisonment.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  one  man,  each  criminal  told  the  Prince  that 
he  had  found  himself  in  jail  because,  though  innocent, 
he  had  been  wrongly  accused,  or  because  of  some 
miscarriage  of  justice.  When  the  Prince  came  to  the 
last  man,  he  said  to  him:  "  What's  the  reason  of  your 
imprisonment  ?" 

"  Alas  !"  said  the  prisoner  in  contrite  accents,  "  I 
stole  a  purse."  "  You  stole  a  purse  !"  exclaimed  the 
Prince,  as  if  horrified.  Then  turning  to  the  governor, 
he  said :  "  It  is  monstrous  that  a  thief  should  be  among 


150   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

so  many  honest  men.  Remove  his  handcufis.  I  give 
him  his  liberty.  Prisoner,  you  are  free."  Child  though 
I  was,  I  was  greatly  impressed  by  the  manner  in  which 
Spurgeon  managed  his  voice,  and  with  his  preach- 
ing. "  How  simply  he  spoke  !"  I  said  to  my  father. 
"  Yes,"  was  the  answer,  "  Ars  est  celare  artem." 

Though  my  father  possessed  a  very  large  share  of 
courage,  and  in  the  bad  time  when  his  Hfe  was  in 
jeopardy  was  ever  cheerful,  yet,  Hke  many  highly- 
strung  people,  he  had  a  horror  of  physical  ills.  One 
day  when  speaking  to  a  friend  (a  lady) — an  ardent 
Christian  Scientist — he  expressed  himself  appre- 
hensive of  having  contracted  a  chill.  The  lady 
chided  him  for  his  nervousness,  and  told  him  if  he 
made  up  his  mind  to  be  well  he  would  not  be  conscious 
of  illness.  She  spoke  of  the  triumph  of  mind  over 
matter,  and  lent  him  a  book  explaining  the  doctrines 
of  Christian  Science.  As  he  did  not  peruse  "  The 
Principles  of  Christian  Science  "  he  was,  of  course 
unable  to  express  an  opinion  on  the  book,  as  he  had 
been  requested  to  do.  He  extracted  himself  from 
the  difficulty  by  the  notelet  which  he  wrote  when 
returning  the  book.     It  ran  thus: 

**  Dear  Lady, 

"  Many  thanks  for  so  kindly  lending  me  '  The 
Principles  of  Christian  Science,'  which  I  now  return. 
Last  night,  alas  !  I  drank  champagne  and  port  at 
dinner,  and  this  morning  feel  neither  a  Christian  nor 
a  Scientist. 

"  Yours  sincerely, 

"  O'Brien." 


CHRISTIAN  SCIENCE  151 

Once  in  his  presence  some  friends  who  were  dis- 
cussing death  happened  to  remark  that  this  world 
was  a  vale  of  tears,  and  to  leave  it  was  a  happy 
release.  My  father,  who  up  to  that  time  had  not 
taken  part  in  the  conversation,  then  told  the  following 
little  anecdote  of  a  friend,  whom  we  shall  call  Colonel 
Adams,  though  that  was  not  his  name.  The  Colonel 
lived  at  a  place  which  we  shall  call  Ballyaller,  a 
dilapidated  house  completely  isolated,  in  the  West  of 
Ireland.  Touchstone's  words  would  describe  the 
Colonel's  feelings — "  a  poor  thing,  but  my  own  " — 
for  he  loved  Ballyaller  dearly.  During  his  last  illness, 
which  was  long,  the  clergyman  of  his  parish  con- 
stantly visited  him  to  administer  spiritual  consola- 
tion. One  day,  finding  the  invalid  much  depressed, 
the  clergyman  spoke  disdainfully  of  the  fleeting  joys 
of  this  world,  and  dwelt  on  the  glories  of  paradise, 
describing  the  jasper  city  and  all  its  beauties.  The 
poor  Colonel  listened  poHtely,  seeming  to  acquiesce 
in  everything,  but  when  the  clergyman  had  finished 
speaking,  said  wistfully:  "To  be  sure,  heaven  may 
be  a  very  beautiful  place,  but  I'd  be  quite  content 
if  they'd  only  leave  me  at  Ballyaller,"  meaning  by 
*'  they  "  the  powers  that  be. 

On  the  occasion  of  Queen  Victoria's  last  visit  to 
Ireland,  Her  Majesty's  Irish  Chief  Justice  received  a 
command  to  dine  with  the  Queen.  This  summons 
placed  him  in  a  difficult  position,  as  he  did  not  receive 
it  till  the  morning  of  the  day  for  which  the  dinner 
was  fixed,  and  his  Court  suit  was  in  London  !  Luckily, 
his  tailor  was  a  man  of  resource,  and  promised  to  run 


152   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

up  a  suit  in  time,  but  he  warned  my  father  to  beware 
of  gesticulation,  or  much  movement,  lest  the  hasty 
stitching  might  give.     The  suit  was  delivered  in  due 
course,  and  the  Chief  hurried  off  to  the  Viceregal 
Lodge,  hoping  fervently  that  the  stitches  would  hold, 
and  that  he  would  not  be  seized  with  a  fit  of  sneezing. 
Fortunately,  the  stitches  did  what  was  required  of 
them,  so  that  his  nervous  apprehension  wore  off,  and 
he  was  free  to  enjoy  himself.     When  dinner  was 
over.  Her  Majesty,  who  sat  in  an  arm-chair  in  the 
centre  of  the  room,  sent  for  him  and  held  a  prolonged 
conversation  with  him  concerning  Ireland  and  Irish 
affairs,   which,   he   said,   she   discussed   with  much 
intelligence.     It  was  only  when  she  rose  and,  leaning 
on  a  stick,  walked  out  of  the  room,  that  he  realized 
how  aged  and  feeble  she  was.     I  have  been  told  that 
the  Queen  laughed  heartily  at  my  father's  account 
of  how,  when  a  serjeant-at-law,  he  bested  a  Swiss 
hotel-keeper.     One  hot,  airless  night  he  arrived  at 
Lucerne,  when  the  season  was  at  its  height,  and  drove 
to  one  of  the  principal  hotels.     He  was  assigned  a 
small,  stuffy  bedroom,  and  on  asking  for  a  more  airy 
apartment,    was   informed    that   the   hotel   was   so 
crowded  that  there  was  not  another  room  available. 
He  then  inscribed  the  following  words  in  the  visitors' 
book:  "  Her  Britannic  Majesty's  Second  Serjeant-at- 
Law."     This  high-sounding  title  so  greatly  impressed 
and  perplexed  the  manager,  that  he  debated  as  to 
whether  my  father  ought  to  be  received  with  diplo- 
matic courtesies  !     Needless  to  add,  he  was  at  once 
given  a  splendid  and  spacious  apartment. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE   INTERNATIONAL   BOAT   RACE 

It  was  due  to  my  father's  efforts  that  the  Inter- 
national Boat  Race  took  place  in  July,  1902,  on  the 
River  Lee,  when  a  cup  was  competed  for,  the  value 
of  which  was  some  four  hundred  pounds.  The  entry 
for  this  International  Cup  was  larger  than  the  entry 
for  the  Grand  Challenge  Cup  at  Henley.  The 
Leander  Club  was  the  first  to  declare  that  it  would 
send  a  crew  to  compete  upon  the  Lee;  Oxford  sent 
two  crews,  and  Cambridge  one  from  Emmanuel 
College;  Ireland  entered  eight  of  her  best  crews;  and 
Germany  sent  one  from  Berlin.  This  sporting  event 
was  the  most  interesting  that  ever  took  place  on  Irish 
waters,  and  was  witnessed  by  an  enormous  concourse 
of  people,  the  crowd  covering  the  two  miles  of 
thoroughfare  on  both  sides  of  the  Lee.  Every  shop 
in  Cork  was  closed,  and  the  weather,  strange  to  say, 
behaved  so  admirably  that  the  beautiful  river  was 
without  a  ripple.  Bunting  displayed  itself  gaily, 
while  pleasure-boats  were  decorated  with  the  colours 
of  the  various  rowing  clubs,  the  rose-red  of  the 
Leander  Club  being  everywhere  conspicuous.  Cork 
is  proverbially  hospitable,  and  each  and  all  vied  in 
entertaining  and  accommodating  the  various  crews. 

153 


154    REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

My  father  threw  himself  heart  and  soul  into  making 
the  race  a  success;  it  was  characteristic  of  him  to  be 
very  eager  about  anything  in  which  he  was  in- 
terested. I  hope  he  wished  as  ardently  as  I  did  that 
an  Irish  rowing  club  would  win.  At  one  moment 
Germany  seemed  likely  to  carry  off  the  trophy ;  there 
was  a  moment  of  breathless  tension  when  the  German 
crew  led  by  a  length ;  then  the  Leander  caught  them 
up,  and  they  rowed  neck  to  neck  for  about  three  yards, 
the  Leander  finally  winning  by  one  length.  A  storm 
of  deafening  cheers  greeted  this  most  exciting  finish. 

"  I  had  no  idea  a  boat  race  could  be  so  thrilling," 
said  a  racing  man  when  the  race  was  over.  "  Just 
think — I,  who  have  kept  race-horses  all  my  life  and 
bet  largely,  could  have  had  just  the  same  excitement 
without  expense." 

Lady  Bandon  presented  the  cup  to  the  victors. 
My  father  was  greatly  pleased  at  the  success  of  the 
regatta,  and  at  the  orderly  bearing  of  the  vast  as- 
semblage. He  had  always  an  affection  for  Cork,  the 
scene  of  his  early  triumphs  at  the  Bar.  The  boat 
race  attracted  a  great  crowd,  and  as  it  took  place 
during  the  Cork  Exhibition,  did  much  to  increase 
the  success  of  that  enterprise. 

When  the  race  was  first  suggested,  many  persons 
threw  cold  water  on  the  idea.  "  You  will  never  get 
Irishmen  to  pull  together,  not  even  in  a  boat,"  was 
the  remark  made  to  my  father  over  and  over  again. 
But  he  understood  the  Irish  character,  and  the  only 
reply  he  vouchsafed  was,  "  Won't  I  ?     We  shall  see. 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  BOAT  RACE     155 

Who  are  the  critics  ?     Those  who  have  failed  in 
life." 

He  was  lucky  in  having  the  assistance  of  Mr.  H.  G. 
Gold,  and  of  that  athlete  and  man  of  letters  Mr.  R.  H. 
Lehmann.  Both  these  gentlemen  acted  as  umpires, 
and  my  father's  many  friends  helped  him,  with 
their  subscriptions,  to  provide  the  cup.  One  friend, 
whom  he  met  in  the  Kildare  Street  Club,  when  asked 
or  a  subscription,  wrote  the  following  amusing 
parody  on  Front's  well-known  poem: 

"  0  the  Groves  of  Blarney  ! 
They  are  so  charming 
Around  the  Rock  of 
Sweet  Cajolry  ! 
Whence  that  noble  Scion, 
The  Lord  O'Brien, 
In  old  Kildare  Street 
Came  down  on  me, 

"  With  his  high  Mandamus, 
(For  his  word  that  same  is) 
'  Pay  those  two  guineas  I've 
Assessed  on  thee 
For  my  noble  muster 
That's  to  add  new  lustre 
To  the  pleasant  waters 
Of  the  River  Lee.' 

"Oh,  Cam  and  Isis 
Have  their  great  Boat  prizes, 
But  when  next  Summer  ends 
Where  shall  these  be  ? 
When  their  ancient  story 
Must  yield  its  glory 
To  the  glorious  waters 
Of  the  River  Lee  ! 


156   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

"  When  all  Erin's  Island- 
Town,  plain  and  highland — 
Shall  joyful  gather  round 
Our  '  Chief  '  from  Clare, 
Clan  of  Kinkora 
From  Kilfenora, 
As  he  lifts  his  '  Loving  Cup  ' 
Resplendent  there." 


CHAPTER   XXVIII 

NEWLANDS  HOUSE — ^THE   INVISIBLE   COACH 

On  leaving  Castletown  we  anchored  at  Newlands 
House,  which  is  situated  above  Clondalkin,  not  far 
from  the  Dublin  Mountains.  If  the  house  is  some- 
what isolated,  the  surrounding  scenery  is  lovely.  In 
spring  the  hills  are  yellow  with  gorse,  while  in  summer 
and  in  early  autumn  the  heather  and  bracken  are  a 
joy  to  the  eye.  We  made  many  expeditions  in  the 
neighbourhood,  which  afforded  my  father  much  plea- 
sure. He  was  very  fond  of  scenery,  and  would  travel 
any  distance  to  obtain  a  good  view.  Newlands  is  a 
very  old  house,  and  looks  much  older  than  it  really  is, 
inasmuch  as  it  is  much  weather-beaten,  having  been 
buffeted  by  many  a  wild  storm  from  the  hills.  From 
an  elevation  in  the  grounds  there  is  an  extensive 
panorama  of  Dublin  and  its  surroundings. 

A  Dominican  monastery  nestles  at  the  foot  of  Tal- 
laght  Hill,  and  in  our  rambles  we  frequently  came 
upon  the  monks,  picturesque  in  the  flowing  blagk- 
and-white  habits  of  their  Order. 

At  Newlands  my  father  got  together  a  pack  of 
basset  hounds,  and  he  used  to  derive  much  pleasure 
in  following  them  on  foot. 

There  is  a  tradition  that  Newlands  is  haunted. 

157 


158   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

It  had  at  one  time  been  the  residence  of  Lord  Kil- 
warden,  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  Ireland,  who  was 
assassinated  in  1803,  in  the  Emmet  rising,  under  the 
most  tragic  circumstances.  The  Lord  Chief  Justice, 
when  driving  to  Dublin  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the 
Privy  Council,  was  set  upon  by  the  rebels,  dragged 
from  his  coach,  and  stabbed.  The  terrified  horses 
returned  to  Newlands  at  a  gallop,  where  Lady  Kil- 
warden  met  the  empty  coach.  From  time  to  time 
ever  since,  the  sounds  of  horses'  hoofs  are  supposed 
to  be  heard  on  the  avenue,  accompanied  by  the  loud 
rumble  of  heavy  coach-wheels. 

Inscribed  on  a  pane  of  glass  in  a  window  at  New- 
lands  is  Lord  Kilwarden's  name.  It  is,  as  far  as  I 
know,  on  the  pane  to  this  day.  When  my  father 
heard  that  the  place  was  supposed  to  be  haunted,  he 
asked  if  the  ghost  was  an  "  inside  "  or  an  "  outside  " 
one,  and  on  hearing  that  the  ghostly  manifestations 
were  confined  to  the  grounds,  he  took  the  house, 
notwithstanding  its  rather  gloomy  history.  When 
we  had  been  at  Newlands  about  a  month,  I  had  a 
strange  experience.  One  lovely  afternoon,  in  early 
autumn,  I  was  sitting  alone  in  the  drawing-room, 
which  is  situated  at  the  back  of  the  house.  The  sun 
was  streaming  through  the  open  window,  and  a  small 
fire  burned  briskly  on  the  hearth.  It  had  been  lit 
more  for  the  sake  of  cheerfulness  than  warmth. 
Among  the  flower-beds  I  could  hear  belated  bees 
drowsily  humming.  I  had  an  interesting  book  in 
my  hand,  and  was  feeling  lazy  and  immeasurably 


THE  INVISIBLE  COACH  159 

content.  Nothing  was  further  from  my  thoughts 
than  ghostly  visitations.  Suddenly  I  heard  the  sound 
of  horses'  hoofs  on  the  avenue.  Visitors,  I  thought 
regretfully,  and  prepared  to  lay  aside  my  book.  I 
listened  for  a  moment,  and  concluded  that  visitors 
were  not  coming,  for  the  sounds  were  like  those  of 
some  heavy  van  or  coach  lumbering  up  the  avenue. 
I  went  into  the  hall  and  on  to  the  doorsteps,  looking 
to  right  and  left,  but  there  was  nothing  in  sight.  I 
returned  to  the  drawing-room  much  perplexed,  feel- 
ing that  perhaps  after  all  there  were  such  things  as 
ghosts,  and  that  Lord  Kilwarden's  invisible  coach  had 
paid  me  a  visit,  though  I  experienced  no  feeling  of 
alarm;  it  was  almost  impossible  to  feel  nervous  in 
broad  daylight  with  the  sun  shining  brightly.  When 
my  family  heard  of  the  occurrence,  they  could  find 
no  solution  of  the  mystery,  but  seemed  to  think  I  had 
been  a  prey  to  superstitious  fears.  My  father  cheer- 
fully remarked  that  if  Lord  Kilwarden  did  drive  about 
the  neighbourhood,  he  would  have  displayed  a  decided 
lack  of  courtesy  had  he  not  called  upon  the  Chief 
Justice.  The  mysterious  rumbling  of  coach-wheels 
was  explained  shortly  afterwards  in  the  following 
manner:  One  day,  happening  to  be  in  the  grounds 
at  the  rear  of  the  house,  I  again  distinctly  heard  the 
rumbling  of  heavy  wheels.  My  sister,  who  had  been 
with  me  a  few  minutes  before,  had  gone  indoors.  I 
thought  she  was  still  near,  and  called  out  loudly,  "  Do 
you  hear  the  coach  on  the  avenue  ?" 

There  was  no  answer  to  my  question,  but  my  own 


160   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

words  came  back  to  me  distinctly,  thus  enabling  me 
to  solve  the  mystery  of  the  invisible  coach;  for  in 
that  part  of  the  grounds  which  was  situated  about  a 
hundred  yards  or  so  from  the  drawing-room,  where 
I  had  first  heard  the  rumbling  of  the  wheels,  there 
was  a  loud  echo.  I  called  out  several  times,  and 
always  heard  my  own  voice  borne  on  the  breeze.  I 
then  went  towards  the  wall  which  surrounded  the 
domain,  and,  looking  over,  saw  a  heavy  dray  going 
down  the  Nass  Road.  It  was  only  at  one  particular 
spot  that  the  sounds  were  audible,  and  that  spot  was 
situated  in  a  direction  parallel  with  the  drawing-room 
at  the  rear  of  Newlands;  from  the  front  of  the  house 
the  sounds  could  not  be  heard. 

This  is  the  somewhat  prosaic  explanation  of  Lord 
Kil warden's  coach. 

It  was  supposed  that  there  was  a  hollow  somewhere 
under  the  grounds  at  Newlands,  which  has  served  as  a 
lurking-place  for  rebels,  and  which  communicated 
with  a  secret  passage  leading  to  the  Dublin  Mountains, 
where  the  rebels  used  to  hold  meetings.  In  this 
cavity  a  treasure  was  supposed  to  be  buried.  How 
many  hours  I  wasted  looking  for  the  treasure,  and 
the  secret  passage  ! 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

CARLSBAD — VERSAILLES 

In  the  summer  of  1908  my  father  journeyed  to  Carls- 
bad under  his  doctor's  orders;  I  accompanied  him. 
He  derived  much  benefit  from  the  Sprudel  waters,  the 
change  of  scene,  and  the  invigorating  air.  What  end- 
less and  dehghtful  rambles  we  took  through  the  great 
pine  forests  !  Walking  through  the  woods,  inhaling 
the  fragrant  scent  of  the  pine-trees,  forms  part  of  the 
cure  at  Carlsbad.  The  forest  to  us  was  a  haunt  of 
endless  joy.  How  delightful  were  its  cool,  mysterious 
depths  !  How  noble  its  great  upstanding,  blue-black 
firs  !  A  winding  path  would  bring  us  suddenly  in 
sight  of  some  flower-bedecked  shrine  where  suffering 
pilgrims  knelt,  praying  probably  for  restoration  to 
health.  Life  begins  early  at  Carlsbad;  people  are 
astir  before  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  are  to 
be  seen  at  the  Sfrudel  drinking  their  glasses  of  water. 
The  queue  at  the  well  is  often  half  a  mile  in  length, 
and  in  it  one  sees  representatives  from  every  nation, 
progressing  literally  by  inches  to  their  goal.  One 
day  we  motored  to  Marienbad  to  call  on  a  friend. 
In  the  street  there  we  met  His  Majesty  King  Edward, 
who  honoured  his  Irish  Chief  Justice  by  stopping  to 
say  a  few  words  to  him.     His  Majesty,  ever  anxious 

161  11 


162    REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

to  promote  pleasant  social  intercourse,  bade  us  call 
on  Monsieur  Clemenceau,  who  was  then  "  doing  a 
cure  "  at  Carlsbad.    My  father  obeyed  orders,  feeling 
somewhat   apprehensive   lest   Monsieur   Clemenceau 
should  not  be  able  to  speak  English,  in  which  case, 
he  said,  "  I  shall  have  to  air  my  County  Clare  French." 
However,    we   found    that   Monsieur   Clemenceau 
spoke  English  perfectly.     He  received  us  most  cor- 
dially, and  as  he  was  leaving  Carlsbad  in  the  course 
of  a  few  days,  suggested  that  we  should  call  upon 
him  when  passing  through  Paris  on  our  way  home. 
This  we  did,  and  he  made  things  very  pleasant  for 
us  in  the  French  capital  during  our  brief  visit  there. 
Indeed,  this  visit  to  Paris  stands  out  as  one  of  the 
pleasantest  experiences  in  both  our  lives.     It  was 
late  in  September  when  we  reached  Paris ;  the  weather 
was   glorious — fine   and   dry.     Each  day  we  made 
interesting   excursions.     We   visited   Versailles   and 
Fontainebleau,  and  as  we  had  special  permits,  owing 
to  the  kindness  of  Monsieur  Clemenceau,  we  were 
admitted  to  many  places  of  interest  not  usually  open 
to  the  public.    At  Fontainebleau  we  were  shown  over 
the  apartments  of  Napoleon  and  Josephine,  and  the 
rooms  once  occupied  by  the  spirituelle  de  Maintenon. 
We   sat  upon  her  sunny   balcony   overlooking   the 
famous  carp  pond  where  she  and  the  Roi  Soleil  were 
wont  to  sit  chatting  in  their  old  age,  when  both  were 
the  victims  of  rheumatism  and  failing  health. 

We  were  greatly  interested  in  pictures  of  Madame  de 
Montespan  and  of  Louise  de  la  Valliere,  and  my  father, 


VEESAILLES  163 

who  had  a  penchant  for  the  gentle  de  la  Valliere  (for 
which  Whyte-Melville's  charming  novel  "  Sister 
Louise  "  was  responsible),  was  forced  to  acknowledge, 
very  much  against  the  grain,  that  she  was  plain — 
distinctly  plain.  His  disillusionment  caused  me  much 
amusement,  and  I  could  not  resist  chaffing  him.  But 
he  appeared  so  downcast  that  I  took  pity  on  him,  and 
told  him  by  way  of  consolation  that  in  all  probabiUty 
the  painter  had  not  done  her  justice.  We  also  visited 
St.  Germains,  interesting  to  English  people  inasmuch 
as  the  exiled  James  II.  and  his  consort,  the  lovely 
Mary  Beatrice  of  Modena,  took  up  their  abode  there 
after  the  flight  from  England.  Only  a  few  stones 
remain  to  mark  the  spot  where  the  palace  stood, 
which  was  destroyed  by  the  Communists.  From  the 
Pavilion  Henri  Quatre,  near  the  ruins,  we  obtained 
a  glorious  view  of  the  Seine,  quivering  and  ghttering 
in  the  autumn  sunlight  as  it  wound  its  way,  like  a 
silver  ribbon,  through  the  pleasant  land  of  France. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

ABBOTSFORD — DRYBURGH  ABBEY — SEDAN   DAY — HERBERT 
BISMARCK — LORD    WOLSELEY 

In  the  autumn  of  1912  my  father  and  I  made  an 
expedition  to  Scotland,  where  we  stayed  with  Sir 
Richard  and  Lady  Waldie  Griffith  at  Hendersyde 
Park,  romantically  situated  on  the  Tweed.  It  was 
his  last  visit  to  Scotland,  and  he  thoroughly  enjoyed 
it.  He  delighted  in  the  historical  associations  of  the 
Border  country;  and,  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  he  was  in  his  element  in  Scott's  country. 
We  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Abbotsford,  where  we  in- 
spected Sir  Walter's  library  with  much  interest.  My 
father  had  the  greatest  admiration  for  Scott's  in- 
domitable courage  when,  confronted  with  the  pros- 
pect of  financial  ruin  in  his  old  age,  he  began  writing 
again,  and  rebuilt  his  fortune  by  his  pen.  He  spoke 
of  how  incessantly  Scott  worked,  and  dwelt  on  this 
incident  in  Scott's  life.  He  told  me  that  Lockhart, 
when  living  in  Edinburgh,  used  to  see  in  the  window 
of  a  house  opposite  his,  a  hand  constantly  writing. 
This  busy  hand,  running  over  the  paper,  was  all  that 
was  visible  between  the  curtains.  First  thing  in  the 
morning  and  last  thing  at  night,  Lockhart  saw  it. 
He  grew  curious  to  know  to  whom  the  hand  belonged, 

164 


ABBOTSFOKD  165 

and  discovered  that  it  was  that  of  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
working  indefatigably  at  his  immortal  novels.  What 
pleasure  my  father  derived  from  the  Waverley  Novels ! 
In  fact,  he  read  few  other  works  of  fiction.  He  was 
never  a  great  reader,  but  read  the  books  he  liked  over 
and  over  again,  which  comprised  Shakespeare's  plays, 
the  Bible,  and  Scott's  novels.  He  was  once  seriously 
annoyed  with  me  because  I  ventured  to  say  in  his 
presence  that  the  Waverley  Novels  belong  to  a  past 
age.  I  never  recollect  seeing  him  read  a  modern  sen- 
sational novel.  Historical  works  greatly  interested 
him,  and  he  had  a  liking  for  the  writings  of  Harrison 
Ainsworth.  He  confessed  that  in  his  youth  he  had 
shed  copious  tears  over  "  Guy  Fawkes."  Of  the 
Waverley  Novels,  his  favourites  were  "  Ivanhoe," 
"  The  Heart  of  Midlotliian,"  and  "  Woodstock."  He 
could  quote  passages  from  them  by  heart.  A  favourite 
passage  of  his  was  the  one  from  "  Woodstock  "  be- 
ginning: "  Oh,  Antony  Vandyke,  what  a  power  was 
thine  !"  It  is  spoken  by  Cromwell  when,  overwhelmed 
by  emotion,  he  suddenly  sees  a  picture  of  Charles  I. 
My  father  had  a  liking  for  Scott's  poetry,  and  wished 
to  visit  Melrose  Abbey,  so  our  kind  host  and  hostess 
motored  us  there,  but  not  "  by  the  pale  moonlight." 
We  also  motored  to  Jedburgh  Castle,  where  Queen 
Mary  stayed  when  she  rode  from  Holyrood  to  meet 
Bothwell. 

We  were  pointed  out  Queen  Mary's  Mire — a 
marshy  field,  in  those  days  a  quagmire,  where  many 
of  her   retinue   were   engulfed.     My   father   quoted 


166    REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

freely  from  "  The  Abbot  "  and  "  The  Monastery," 
and  would  ever  and  anon  break  off  to  exclaim, 
''  What  a  debt  of  gratitude  Scotland  owes  to  Scott ! 
Why,  he  immortalized  every  stone  here." 

Before  we  left  Scotland  we  visited  Dryburgh 
Abbey,  where  Sir  Walter  Scott  is  buried.  The  old 
abbey,  at  once  so  grand  and  peaceful,  seemed  on  that 
autumn  afternoon  a  meet  resting-place  for  the  great 
Scotchman.  It  was  too  late  in  the  season  for  ex- 
cursionists, so  that  we  had  it  all  to  ourselves.  Nothing 
disturbed  the  silence  save  a  robin,  which,  perched  on 
the  novelist's  tomb,  bravely  sang  its  melancholy 
autumn  song. 

This  visit  to  Scotland  was  the  last  of  the  many 
delightful  expeditions  we  made  together.  I  was  his 
constant  companion  from  my  early  childhood,  and 
shared  many  of  his  experiences.  My  sister  and  I, 
when  quite  small  children,  rode  by  his  side  up  the 
Brocken  in  the  Hartz  Mountains,  amusing  him  the 
while  by  our  prattle  of  Faust  and  the  Witches' 
Sabbath.  He  encouraged  us  to  talk  freely  with 
him,  and  never  talked  "  down  "  to  us,  an  aggravating 
habit  common  to  many  "  grown-ups."  On  reaching 
the  summit  of  the  Brocken,  we  came  upon  a  large 
crowd  of  schoolboys  beating  drums  and  waving  flags. 
We  inquired  the  cause  of  this  jubilation,  and  were 
told  that  as  it  was  the  4:th  of  September,  they  were 
celebrating  the  anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  Sedan, 
as  is  the  custom  in  Germany.  I  remember  him 
telling  us  of  the  Franco-German  War,   and  of  the 


HEEBERT  BISMARCK  167 

German  success  at  Sedan,  and  he  told  us  what  in- 
sufferable airs  the  victors  gave  themselves  at  the 
close  of  the  war,  bragging  of  their  successes,  and 
that  their  bounce  and  swagger  were  quite  unbearable. 
He  thus  kept  two  little  girls  interested  all  day. 

It  was  only  when  we  returned  to  our  hotel  that  we 
realized  how  tired  we  were,  and  what  a  long  excursion 
we  had  made.  He  was  much  interested  in  mihtary 
strategy,  and  liked  discussing  famous  battles.  As  a 
child,  at  his  request,  I  read  aloud  to  him  Sir  Edward 
Creasy 's  "  Decisive  Battles  of  the  World,"  and  he 
insisted  upon  my  marking  on  the  map  places  where 
important  battles  had  taken  place.  Though  these 
readings  were  doubtless  improving,  I  fear  I  did  not 
enjoy  them  as  I  ought.  In  those  days  I  found  Sir 
Edward  Creasy  very  dry ;  the  words  seemed  very  big, 
and  the  names  very  unpronounceable.  My  father 
visited  Mars  la  Tour,  Sedan,  and  those  places  where 
important  actions  had  taken  place  in  the  war  of 
1870.  When  Count  Herbert  Bismarck  was  the 
guest  of  Lord  Londonderry  in  Dublin,  he  called 
upon  my  father  at  the  courts.  As  they  were  talking 
together,  Count  Bismarck  gave  a  sudden  wince,  as  if 
in  pain.  "  What  is  the  matter.  Count  ?"  asked  my 
father.  "  Oh,  nothing  to  signify,"  came  the  answer; 
"  only  a  rheumatic  pang.  My  leg  is  like  a  weather- 
cock, since  some  damned  Frenchman  put  a  bullet  in 
it  in  the  Franco-Prussian  War." 

Count  Bismarck  was  much  struck  at  seeing  some 
dilapidated,  ill-countenanced  men  waiting  to  be  tried. 


168   REMINISCENCES  OF  LOKD  O'BRIEN 

*'  Surely,"  lie  said,  "  each  of  these  rascally  fellows  is 
not  to  be  separately  tried.  What  a  waste  of  time ! 
It  would  be  -wiser  to  hang  the  lot."  He  was  good- 
humoured  and  pleasant,  very  homely  in  his  manner; 
indeed,  there  was  very  little  Kultur  or  Bildung  (which 
is  the  better  word)  about  him.  At  dinner  he  partook 
largely  of  oysters,  and  astonished  us  all  greatly  by 
drinking  champagne  and  porter  at  the  same  meal. 

Once  when  my  father  and  I  were  travelUng  we 
found  ourselves  in  the  same  compartment  with  Lord 
Wolseley,  who  was  a  most  entertaining  conversa- 
tionahst.  After  a  time  he  and  my  father  discussed 
wars  and  warfare.  My  father  observed  that  con- 
ducting a  campaign  must  be  a  terrible  strain  on  the 
nervous  system.  "  Yes,"  answered  Lord  Wolseley, 
"  one  must  keep  very  fit  and  practise  abstinence. 
For  weeks  before  the  Battle  of  Tel-el-Kebir  I  eschewed 
even  the  mildest  cigarette,  but  when  victory  was  ours 
I  smoked  sixteen  straight  off  without  a  check,  and 
how  I  enjoyed  that  smoke  !" 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

RESIGNATION — LAST   DAYS 

My  father  resigned  the  Chief-Justiceship  of  Ireland 
in  January,  1913.  When  the  news  appeared  in  the 
papers  he  received  many  messages  of  regret  and 
affection,  especially  from  Clare — he  was  ever  proud 
of  being  a  Clare  man.     The  Bishop  of  Killaloe  wrote : 

"  Ennis, 

"19.  11.  '13. 

"  My  dear  Lord  O'Brien, 

"  I  must  write  one  most  sincere  word  to  say 
with  what  genuine  sorrow  I  see  it  announced  that 
you  are  about,  because  of  ill-health,  to  resign  the 
office  of  Lord  Chief  Justice,  which  you  have  filled 
for  so  many  years,  and  with  such  splendid  dignity. 
I  think,  too,  that  in  this  matter  I  can  speak  not 
only   for   myself,    but   for   the   great   body   of    the 
people  of  Clare,  especially  that  portion  of  the  people 
for  which  I  am  specially  responsible,  who  all  regret 
your  illness,  and  with  whom  you  have  been  always 
popular,  feeling  as  they  did  that  in  you  they  had 
a  true  and  courageous  friend  who  never  forgot  the 
country  where  he  was  born. 

"  I  wish  you  a  speedy  return  to  perfect  health, 

169 


170   EEMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

and  I  earnestly  pray  the  Good  God  Who  has  blessed 
your  life  so  propitiously  to  grant  you  still  many  years 
to  enjoy  your  well-earned  repose. 

"  Believe  me,  dear  Lord  O'Brien, 
"  Yours  sincerely, 

''  F.    M.   FOGHERTY, 

"  BisJwp  of  Killaloe." 

Another  Clare  friend  wrote: 

''  .  .  .  I  knew  you  first  as  Peter  O'Brien,  and 
afterwards  as  Peter  the  Packer,  and  I  then  followed 
your  career  all  through,  and  I  have  always  been 
proud  of  you,  and  of  Clare  for  having  produced  so 
eminent  a  lawyer." 

Mr.  Birrell,  who  had  remonstrated  with  him  for 
resigning,  wrote  thus: 

''  You  have  slipped  through  my  fingers  most 
scandalously.  Will  we  get  a  better  Irishman  than 
you  to  cajole  a  jury  into  observing  their  oaths  ?" 

All  these  kind  messages  touched  my  father  greatly. 
He  felt  keenly  his  severance  w^ith  Bench  and  Bar. 
We  hoped  that  once  his  resignation  became  a  fait 
accomfli,  his  health  would  improve,  but  such  was  not 
the  case.  He  missed  his  accustomed  work.  Perhaps 
his  most  remarkable  trait  was  his  love  of  his  profes- 
sion. He  was  greatly  interested  in  everything  asso- 
ciated with  the  Bar  of  Ireland,  and  was  proud  of  its 
achievements.  He  was  ever  ready  to  hold  out  a 
helping  hand  to  a  nervous  young  barrister,  and  if  he 
could  honestly  give  a  word  of  praise  or  encourage- 


LAST  DAYS  171 

ment,  lie  never  let  the  occasion  slip.     On  tlie  Bench, 
he  was  ever  courteous,  considerate,  and  forbearing. 

As  the  months  wore  on  we  could  see  he  was  failing, 
but  with  the  approach  of  summer  he  made  a  wonderful 
rally,  and  we  hoped  that  we  might  keep  him  with  us 
for  a  considerable  time.  By  August,  1914,  his  health 
had  so  improved  that  he  was  able  to  be  out  again. 
One  fine  sunshiny  morning  in  the  early  days  of  the 
War,  he  and  I  went  for  what  was  to  be  our  last  drive 
together.  We  had  shopping  on  hand,  and  on  reach- 
ing Grafton  Street,  we  found  a  vast  crowd  assembled 
to  see  some  regiment  march  to  the  North  Wall  for 
embarkation,  its  final  destination  being  the  Front. 
We  drew  up  to  see  it  pass.  There  was  a  scene  of 
boundless  enthusiasm;  the  windows  above  the  shops 
were  thrown  open;  workgirls  appeared,  cheering  and 
waving  handkerchiefs.  A  steady  stream  of  soldiers 
poured  past,  the  officers  riding  alongside  of  the  men, 
who  were  singing  bravely.  An  officer,  recognizing 
*'The  Chief,"  as  my  father  was  afiectionately  called, 
saluted  when  passing  the  motor.  The  men,  most 
of  them  Irish,  and  many  of  them  probably  Dubhn 
boys,  evidently  knew  him  by  sight,  for  they  all 
saluted  him,  and  he  returned  each  salute.  When  the 
last  soldier  disappeared,  I  turned  to  spe^k  to  him. 
His  eyes  were  full  of  tears ;  he  knew  full  well  that  he 
would  not  be  spared  to  witness  their  return.  A 
month  later,  on  the  7th  of  September,  he  passed 
away  peacefully,  in  the  presence  of  those  whom  he 
loved,  who  were  gathered  round  his  bedside. 


172   KEMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

After  the  blow  had  fallen,  my  mother  received 
many  kind  letters  to  condole  with  her  on  her  irre- 
parable loss.  Lord  Londonderry  (alas,  so  soon  to 
follow  !)  sent  one  of  the  first  messages  of  sympathy, 
writing : 

"...  I  can  assure  you  my  regard  for  him  whom 
I  always  called  Peter  was  very  great.  He  was 
always  the  dearest  and  kindest  friend  to  me.  I  shall 
ever  look  back  to  that  friendship  with  feelings  of 
the  greatest  pleasure.  I  am  indeed  glad  to  think 
that  I  went  to  see  him  at  Bath,  for  I  gathered  from 
Sir  Edward  Carson  it  gave  him  great  pleasure,  but  I 
would  have  done  more  for  him  than  this." 

Sir  Horace  Plunkett  wrote  thus  appreciatively  of 
his  high  courage: 

"  Dear  Lady  O'Brien, 

"  I  have  avoided  the  flood  of  letters  purposely. 
It  gives  less  pain,  too,  when  such  bereavements  are 
recalled  after  the  first  shock  is  past.  Allow  me  now 
to  send  my  tribute  of  deep  sympathy  with  you  and 
your  family  at  the  passing  of  your  distinguished 
husband. 

"  What  always  struck  me  most  in  his  career  was 
his  wonderful  courage.  Few  men  of  his  time  had 
their  courage  more  thoroughly  tested.  He  never 
once  lost  his  cheerfulness !  It  was  a  full  life,  and, 
considering  what  he  went  through,  the  end  came  no 
sooner  than  his  friends  might  have  expected,  much 


TRIBUTES  OF  SYSIPATHY  173 

as  they  would  have  wished  a  long  calm  evening  after 
such  a  life  of  strenuous  service. 

"  I  wish  you  and  your  family  all  the  comforts 
which  you  should  derive  from  the  remembrance  of 
his  achievements  and  his  charm,  and  from  the  know- 
ledge that  a  very  wide  circle  of  friends  is  deploring 
his  loss  and  sympathizing  with  those  near  and  dear 

to  him. 

"  Believe  me, 

"  Yours  sincerely, 

''  Horace  Plunkett." 


APPENDIX  I 

TRIBUTE   FROM   THE   JUDGES 

At  the  opening  of  Michaelmas  Temi  at  the  Four 
Courts,  the  Judges  of  the  King's  Bench  Division  met 
together  and  paid  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  my 
father,  who  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  occupied  the 
position  of  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  Ireland. 

The  Lord  Chief  Justice  said  that  as  this  was  the 
first   occasion   since   the   lamented   death   of   Lord 
O'Brien  of  Kilfenora  that  this  Divisional  Court  had 
sat,  it  was  right  that  he  as  the  President  of  the  Court 
should  express  on  his  own  behalf  and  on  behalf  of 
his  colleagues  of  the  Bench,  the  officials  of  the  Court, 
and  he  hoped  also  on  behalf  of  the  Bar  and  the 
SoUcitor  profession,  their  feelings  of  very  deep  regret 
at  the  death  of  Lord  O'Brien.     The  career  of  Lord 
O'Brien  was  known  to  them  all.     He  was  for  twenty- 
five  years  President  of  this  Court,  and  before  that  he 
was  a  law  o£&cer  of  the  Crown.     The  older  members 
present  recollected  him  as  a  practising  barrister,  the 
younger  only  as  a  Judge.     If  they  appealed  to  any 
of  these,  the  older  or  the  younger  members,  as  to 
what  they  thought  was  the  chief  characteristic  of 
the  late  Judge,  he  thought  they  would  all  agree  in 
saying  that  it  was  his  great  courage.    He  was  an 

174 


TKIBUTE  FROM  THE  JUDGES  175 

Irisliman  to  the  backbone — a  typical  Irishman — and 
he  possessed  in  a  high  degree  that  high  quaUty  which 
they  rightly  or  wrongly  associated  with  their  race — 
that  of  courage.  As  a  barrister  he  w^as  a  fearless 
advocate,  and  as  a  law  officer  he  obtained  promotion 
very  early  in  life.  Many  of  them  recollected  the 
years  in  which  he  was  Solicitor-General  and  Attorney- 
General.  They  were  troublous  years,  of  great  storm 
and  stress.  Political  passions  ran  high  and  acts  of 
violence  were  committed  throughout  Ireland.  The 
Executive  took  means  to  restore  order.  There  was 
a  good  deal  of  difference  of  opinion  among  persons 
of  all  classes  with  regard  to  those  means,  as  to  whether 
they  were  right  or  wrong;  but  whatever  view  they 
formed  of  that  matter,  everyone  admired  the  courage 
of  the  Attorney-General,  Mr.  Peter  O'Brien,  who 
discharged  the  duties  of  his  office  often  at  great 
personal  risk  to  himself.  When  he  became  a  Judge, 
the  chief  quahties  that  distinguished  his  career  were 
his  firmness  and  his  sound  common  sense.  Other 
Judges  might  have  exceeded  him  in  knowledge  of 
case  law  and  statute  law^,  but  no  Judge  had  a  firmer 
grasp  of  legal  principles  than  Lord  O'Brien,  and  he 
apphed  them  with  courage  and  firmness,  with  dignity 
and  with  consideration  for  all  parties.  His  judg- 
ments were  models  of  lucidity  and  care.  Knowing 
as  he  did  the  Irish  character  most  thoroughly,  he 
always  had  great  weight  with  a  jury,  and  his  loss  to 
the  Bench  was  very  severe.  They  all  recollected  a 
year  ago  when  failing  health  compelled  him  to  resign 


176    REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

his  high  office,  and  they  regretted  that  so  few  days 
were  spared  to  him  after  his  retirement  to  enjoy  his 
well-earned  leisure.  They  all  mourned  his  loss,  not 
only  as  a  Judge,  but  as  a  friend,  and  they  desired 
to  tender  Lady  O'Brien  and  the  other  members  of 
his  family  their  very  sincere  and  deep  sympathy  in 
their  bereavement. 

The  Solicitor-General  said  that  in  the  unavoidable 
absence  of  the  Attorney-General  he  desired  to  join 
in  the  tribute  which  had  been  paid  to  the  memory 
of  Lord  O'Brien. 

In  the  course  of  a  long  and  eventful  career.  Lord 
O'Brien  had  many  critics  but  few  enemies,  for  even 
those  who  differed  most  from  him  were  attracted  by 
the  fine  qualities  of  the  man.  Chiefly,  perhaps,  by 
the  courage  referred  to  by  the  Lord  Chief  Justice 
with  which  he  pursued  what  he  conceived  to  be  the 
path  of  his  duty,  and  by  the  kindliness  of  disposition 
which  always  characterized  him — his  was  a  big  heart. 
They  at  the  Bar  especially  knew  and  experienced  his 
kindliness.  There  was  not  one  of  them  whom  the 
late  Lord  O'Brien  did  not  at  some  time  or  other 
assist  by  his  encouragement  or  advice.  Above  all, 
he  was  a  good  friend  to  the  struggling  junior;  he  was 
always  for  the  weak,  against  the  strong.  As  a  Judge 
he  was  patient  in  his  search  for  the  truth,  and  with 
an  extraordinary  instinct  for  finding  it.  No  Judge 
of  our  time  could  try  a  case  at  Nisi  Prius  better  than 
Lord  O'Brien;  no  one  did  more  to  uphold  the  dignity 
of  the  courts:  he  insisted  that  the  forensic  battle 


TRIBUTE  FROM  THE  JUDGES         177 

should  be  fought,  as  it  always  should  be  fought, 
according  to  the  rules  of  the  game,  without  personal 
animosity  or  heat.  Bearing  these  things  in  mind, 
and  with  deep  sympathy  for  his  sorrowing  friends, 
the  Bar  of  Ireland  reverently  placed  their  tribute 
of  affection  and  respect  on  the  tomb  of  a  great  Judge 
and  a  great  Irishman. 


12 


APPENDIX  II 

SPEECH   ON  women's   SUFFRAGE 

My  father  made  an  important  speech  on  Women's 
Suffrage,  at  a  meeting  in  the  Antient  Concert 
Rooms,  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  Conserva- 
tive and  Unionist  Women's  Franchise  Association, 
when  an  address  on  the  subject  was  delivered  by 
Mrs.  Fawcett. 

The  speech  attracted  widespread  attention,  and  its 
delivery  was  received  with  great  enthusiasm  and  was 
punctuated  by  repeated  applause.    He  said: 

A  very  great  privilege  has  been  conferred  upon  me 
to-night.  I  have  been  asked  to  propose  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  Mrs.  Fawcett  for  her  address.  You  will 
all  agree  with  me  that  she  eminently  deserves  it. 
However  much  the  object  she  advocates  may  continue 
to  be  the  subject  of  controversy,  there  is,  and  can  be, 
no  doubt  but  that  the  address  she  delivered  was 
altogether  admirable.  It  was  interesting — intensely 
interesting.  It  was  characterized  by  a  high  order  of 
eloquence  and  by  very  cogent  logical  power.  The 
treatment  of  a  much  controverted  subject  was  lucid 
and  exhaustive;  and  the  delivery — no  small  point  in  a 
public  address — was  simply  perfect.  And  perhaps 
you  may  consider  that  I  am  not  the  less  qualified 

178 


SPEECH  ON  WOMEN'S  SUFFRAGE      179 

impartially  to  appreciate  the  great  merits  of  Mrs. 
Fawcett's  address,  because  I  belong  to  no  party,  to 
no  society,  to  no  association,  whether  for  or  against 
the  suft'rage.     I  am  merely  a  listener,  though  un- 
doubtedly a  very  interested  one.     Well,  what  is  the 
immediate  impression  left  upon  our  minds  ?     What 
is  the  object-lesson  we  have  learned  ?     Is  it  not  this — 
that  there  is  no  sanction,  in  justice  or  expediency, 
that  a  woman  should  remain  unenfranchised  simply 
because  she  is  a  woman  ?     That  the  objection  based 
upon  the  ground  of  sex  rests  upon  no  solid  foundation  ? 
Of  course,  a  woman  cannot  transmute  herself  into  a 
man,  nor  can  a  man  transmute  himself  into  a  woman; 
we  all  rejoice,  both  men  and  women,  that  such  a 
metamorphosis  is  impossible.     But,  nevertheless,  no 
doubt  you  have  heard  the  expression,  "  He  is  an  old 
woman  of  a  fellow  " — that  is  to  say,  he  is  so  imbecile 
that  he  is  really  a  negligible  quantity.     But  the  male 
old  woman,  if  I  may  illustrate  the  position  by  a  con- 
tradiction in  terms,  no  matter  how  senile  and  incom- 
petent he  may  be,  provided  he  be  neither  a  sheer 
idiot,  lunatic,  nor  ahen,  if  he  can  fulfil  those  conditions 
as  to  the  occupation  of  property  and  payment  of 
taxes  which  women  as  well  as  men  can  fulfil,  is  en- 
titled to  the  franchise;  whereas  a  woman,  did  she 
possess  all  the  wisdom  of  Minerva  and  all  the  wealth 
of  Croesus,  did  she  pay  all  the  taxes  assessable  in 
respect  of  vast  possessions,  both  in  land  and  money, 
and  were  she  endowed  with  all  the  political  capacity 
of   Mr.    Gladstone,   Lord   Beaconsfield,   Mr.   Arthur 


180   KEMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

Balfour,  and  Mr.  Asquith  rolled  into  one,  nevertheless 
must  stand  outside  the  franchise  because  she  is  a 
woman.  This  is  certainly  anomalous.  Well,  how 
did  this  disability,  arising  from  sex,  originate  ?  When 
did  it  originate  ?  It  had  its  origin  in  a  semi-barbarous 
age.  It  was  not  the  creation  of  statute,  but  came 
into  being  when  mere  physical  force,  mere  physical 
prowess,  was  everything,  and  when  man,  the  repre- 
sentative of  physical  force,  had  it  all  his  own  way; 
at  a  time  when  men  rushed  heedlessly,  incontinently, 
to  the  arbitrament  of  the  spear  or  the  sword,  and 
when  women,  by  reason  of  their  inferiority  as  regards 
physical  prowess,  were  in  a  state,  I  might  say,  of 
domestic  slavery.  There  was  an  action  at  law  some 
few  years  ago  in  this  country  which  created  a  great 
deal  of  interest  at  the  time.  It  involved  the  question 
whether  women  were  entitled  to  vote  at  the  election 
of  Town  Commissioners.  The  negative — that  is  to 
say,  that  women  were  incompetent  to  vote — was  es- 
tablished by  a  narrow,  by  a  somewhat  fortuitous, 
majority  of  one  in  a  Court  of  Appeal,  the  primary 
Court  having  been  unanimously  in  favour  of  women. 
Lord  Chief  Justice  Lefroy,  Chief  Baron  Pigot,  and 
Chief  Justice  Monahan — three  of  our  greatest  Judges 
— were  in  favour  of  affirming  the  right  of  women  to 
vote.  Chief  Baron  Pigot  said  he  could  not  attach  to 
women  the  disability  which  we  are  discussing  here 
to-night,  as  the  monarch  who  wears  a  crown  might 
be  a  woman.  His  words — I  am  sure  they  will  be 
very  interesting  to  Mrs.  Fawcett — were: 


SPEECH  ON  WOMEN'S  SUFFRAGE      181 

''  Tlie  reign  of  that  Queen  {i.e..  Queen  Mary)  was 
followed  by  that  of  Queen  Ehzabeth,  of  whom  Lord 
Plunkett  said  that  no  monarch  ever  better  knew  the 
royal  art  of  reigning.  The  intervening  reigns  of 
Queen  Mary  (Consort  of  William  III.)  and  of  Queen 
Anne  have  been  now  followed  by  that  of  another 
female  Sovereign,  not  less  illustrious  than  any  of  her 
predecessors — her  present  Majesty.  I  cannot  hold 
that  in  this  realm,  in  which  a  female  not  only  may 
reign,  but  does  reign,  in  her  own  right,  there  is  in 
women  a  common  law  disability  arising  out  of  mental 
incapacity." 

This  is  the  language  of  Chief  Baron  Pigot.  Well, 
if  you  want  a  thing  done,  and  you  are  in  earnest  about 
it,  what  are  you  to  do  ?  This,,  in  my  opinion — do  it 
yourself  if  you  can;  and  if  you  cannot  do  it  yourself, 
get  others  whom  you  consider  best  quahfied  to  do  it. 
But  what  is  the  position  of  woman  ?  She  cannot  of 
herself  compass  the  reforms  she  desires,  nor  can  she 
vote  for  others  whom  she  considers  best  qualified  to 
achieve  them.  To  illustrate  the  anomalous  character 
of  the  present  state  of  things,  I  might  refer  to  the 
position  of  Miss  Purser — a  very  distinguished  young 
lady.  She  obtained  two  gold  medals  and  a  student- 
ship in  Trinity  College.  She  could  achieve  no  greater 
distinction.  At  the  present  moment  she  lectures  in 
the  place  of  that  eminent  scholar  Professor  Dowden, 
who,  I  regret  to  say,  is  unwell.  Several  scholars  of 
the  University  who  are  entitled  to  vote  attend  her 
lectures,  yet  she  who  lectures  them  has  no  vote,  is 


182    REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

not  competent  to  vote,  in  the  University  because  she 
is  a  woman.  I  thiiik  you  will  all  agree  that  there  can 
be  no  greater  anomaly  than  tbis. 

But  what  was  the  ground  of  decision  in  the  case 
I  referred  to  ?  This — that  women  were,  in  the  eye 
of  the  law,  subordinate  to  men;  that  they  were  in- 
ferior in  judgment,  discretion,  and  physical  capacity. 
As  regards  the  latter,  as  regards  physical  capacity, 
they  are,  no  doubt,  inferior  to  men;  they  are  not  as 
physically  strong  as  men;  they  could  not  endure  the 
physical  sufferings  of  war  as  well  as  men.  The  general 
body  of  women  are  not  so  many  Joans  of  Arc;  they 
do  not  profess  to  be  either  warriors  or  saints.  They 
claim  no  title  to  the  special  interposition  of  heaven 
on  their  behalf;  they  merely  say  that  they  belong  to 
the  great  human  family,  and  that,  if  the  one  portion 
of  that  family  is  entitled  to  any  privilege,  then,  if 
the  conditions  be  identical,  so  is  the  other  portion 
too.  As  far  as  judgment,  discretion,  and  mental 
capacity  are  concerned,  I  think  most  women  are  quite 
on  a  par  with  most  men.  Their  intuition  is  quicker, 
their  instinct  is  truer,  and  their  tact  is  greater  than 
that  of  most  men.  Women  are  more  self-sacrificing 
than  men;  and  from  the  time  of  Adam  to  the  present 
hour  their  moral  intrepidity  has  been  quite  equal,  if 
not  superior,  to  that  of  men.  Our  great  male  pro- 
genitor, when  reproached  for  his  disobedience  in 
eating  the  forbidden  fruit  in  the  Garden  of  Eden, 
exhibiting  a  degree  of  poltroonery  that  can  never  be 
forgotten,  said,  pointing  to  Eve:  "The  woman 
tempted  me,  and  I  did  eat." 


SPEECH  ON  WOMEN'S  SUFFRAGE      183 

In  the  field  of  education,  as  regards  the  capacity 
to  acquire  and  impart  knowledge,  women  have  un- 
doubtedly achieved  great  distinction.  On  this  part 
of  the  argument  I  might  appeal  to  the  annals  of 
Girton  College  and  its  long  list  of  Uterary  distinctions. 
A  daughter  of  Mrs.  Fawcett  qualified,  so  far  as  re- 
lated to  examinations,  for  a  Senior  Wranglership  in 
Mathematics  at  Cambridge,  beating  all  male  com- 
petitors in  the  subject  which  tries  the  intellect  most, 
and  in  which  great  success  involves  the  possession  of 
the  highest  intellectual  capacity.  And  I  have  in  my 
hand  here  a  list  of  the  names  of  other  daughters  of 
that  college,  renowned  for  their  many  scholarly  dis- 
tinctions. So  likewise  as  regards  our  own  great 
University. 

But  now  let  me  turn  to  a  more  practical  aspect  of 
the  question,  and  ask,  What  in  this  practical  age  are 
the  conditions  which  entitle — which  ought  to  entitle 
— a  person  to  the  franchise  ?  Contribution  to  the 
public  purse  and  capacity  to  assist  the  State  by  pro- 
moting the  public  weal.  Well,  do  not  women  con- 
tribute to  the  pubHc  purse  ?  Are  they  not  quahfied 
to  assist  in  promoting  the  public  weal  ?  What  those 
women  who  support  female  suffrage  complain  of  is 
that  there  has  been,  so  to  spe^k,  an  illogical  halt  in 
the  matter;  that  very  consideration  which  made  the 
Legislature  go  as  far  as  it  did  go  ought  to  have  brought 
it  farther.  Mrs.  Fawcett  has  dealt  with  this  most 
elaborately.  She  has  pointed  out  with  much  detail 
the  several  positions  which  women  were  considered 


184   EEMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

capable  of  filling  and  made  competent  by  statutory 
enactment  to  fill.  So  great  is  the  change  in  the  law 
that,  having  regard  to  the  Married  Women's  Property 
Acts,  a  woman  who,  in  relation  to  her  husband,  was 
formerly  considered  a  mere  nonentity  can  now  sue 
him.  A  wife  can  now  be  a  plaintiff  and  make  her 
husband  defendant.  Not  only  can  she  hold  property 
independently  of  her  husband,  but  she  can,  as  a  sole 
plaintiff,  sue  him  in  our  courts  of  law  in  respect  of 
that  property.  Well,  what  measure  of  support  has 
the  object  advocated  to-night  received  ?  I  need  not 
refer  to  John  Stuart  Mill;  but  I  am  desirous,  very 
desirous,  to  show  that  the  subject  has  not  been  treated 
on  mere  party  lines.  Sir  Henry  Campbell-Bannerman 
supported  it;  Mr.  Haldane,  a  distinguished  lawyer  and 
pohtician,  is  in  favour  of  it;  and  Mr.  Arthur  Balfour 
— last,  but  certainly  not  least — spoke  and  voted  for 
the  same  object.  Mr.  Justice  Madden,  equally  distin- 
guished in  law  and  letters,  who  voted  for  it,  informed 
me  that  the  Bill  on  the  subject  of  female  suffrage  intro- 
duced in  the  House  of  Commons  was  dealt  with  on 
non-party  lines.  I  am  myself  a  sort  of  cross-bench- 
man — I  hear  what  all  sides  say,  but  I  belong  to 
none. 

It  has  also  been  said  that  there  is  no  general  de- 
mand for  the  suffrage  on  the  part  of  the  great  body 
of  women.  I  do  not  know  exactly  how  this  may  be; 
but  it  would  appear  to  me  to  be  illogical  and  unfair 
to  refuse  to  grant  the  franchise  to  a  very  substantial 
portion  of  the  female  sex  who  are  entitled  to  get,  and 


SPEECH  ON  WOMEN'S  SUFFRAGE      185 

who  seek  to  get,  it,  because  others  may  be  indifferent 
to  it.  These  latter  object  to  it,  so  far  as  I  can  gather, 
owing  to  an  unreasonable  apprehension  on  their  part 
that  their  character  for  refinement  may  be  preju- 
diced. I  do  not  for  a  moment  say.  that  they  are  vain; 
but  perhaps  they  are  hypersensitive. 

There  is  one  other  objection  which  certainly  de- 
mands consideration.  It  is  said  that  the  gentle, 
sympathetic  nature  of  woman,  and  her  dehcacy  and 
refinement,  and  devotion  to  home,  would  be  seriously 
interfered  with  by  the  turmoil  of  elections,  and  that 
that  turmoil  would  be  aggravated  by  the  emotional 
nature  of  women;  and  it  is  urged  that  they  would 
become  so  many  shrieking  sisters,  so  many  pohtical 
scolds.  But  even  at  this  present  moment,  when  men 
reign  supreme,  the  political  arena  is  not  characterized 
by  the  silence  of  the  desert.  However,  I  do  not 
think  this  retort  is  a  fair  way  to  put  the  argument. 
From  men's  point  of  view  what  is  meant  is  this — 
and  the  contention,  so  far  from  being  disparaging  to 
women,  is  really  complimentary  to  them.  It  comes 
to  this,  that  men  admire  women  so  much  as  they  are 
that  they  deprecate  all  change.  So  profoundly  im- 
pressed are  some  men — indeed,  most  men — by  the 
other  sex  that  they  wish  to  stereotype  them  as  they 
are.  This  part  of  the  argument,  in  my  opinion,  calls 
for  the  gravest  consideration.  Take  a  professional 
man:  what  is  the  greatest,  the  best,  fortune  he  can 
receive  ?  In  my  opinion,  a  good  wife.  Every  pro- 
fessional man,  no  matter  how  brilliant  he  may  be, 


186   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

has  ups  and  downs.     There  is  the  hour  of  disappoint- 
ment as  well  as  the  hour  of  success.     In  fortune's 
smile  the  husband's  triumph  is  the  greater  because 
the  wife  shares  his  joy.     When  fortune  frowns  the 
wife's  sympathy  is  a  priceless  boon.    When  he  looks 
upon  her  who,  for  better  for  worse,  has  been  made  the 
companion  of  his  life,  and  sees,  it  may  be,  the  children 
she  has  brought  him,  he  shakes  off  his  sense  of  de- 
pression and  braces  himself  for  renewed    exertion. 
This  is  home  in  its  highest  aspect,  and  did  I  think  that 
conferring  the  franchise  on  women  would  interfere 
with  the  sanctity  of  the  home  this  movement  would 
not  receive  one  word  of  support  from  me.     But  I  am 
satisfied  that  it  would  have  no  such  effect.     Con- 
ferring the  franchise  on  women  would,  in  my  opinion, 
enlarge  the  area  of  interest  for  man  and  wife,  and  by 
inducing  the  mfe  to  look  abroad  on  the  world,  would 
enable  her  to  see  what  is  best  not  only  for  her  husband 
and  herself,  but  for  their  children  too.     She  would 
be  better  quahfied  to  teach  the  children  the  way  they 
should  go  to  secure  success  in  life.     She  would  learn 
what  pitfalls  were  to  be  avoided,  and  what  road  was 
best  calculated  to  lead  to  success.     She  would  be 
better  quahfied  to  choose  professions  for  her  sons  and 
— a  dehcate  matter — husbands  for  her  daughters ;  and 
perhaps  she  might  learn  the  lesson  that  at  times  she 
might  be  justified  in  bestowing  the  hand  of  her 
daughter  upon  a  man  who,  on  his  part,  had  nothing 
but  his  heart  and  his  brain  to  bestow.     Her  greater 
experience  of  public  life  would  enable  her  to  gauge 


SPEECH  ON  WOMEN'S  SUFFKAGE      187 

more  accurately  what  was  in  a  man — what  manner 
of  man  he  was,  and  what  he  was  likely  to  achieve. 

But  it  is  said  you  must  be  logical.  You  must  give 
seats  in  the  House  of  Commons  to  women  if  you  give 
them  the  franchise. 

This,  in  my  opinion,  is  not  so.  It  does  not  at  all 
logically  follow  because  you  give  votes  to  women  to 
empower  them  to  send  men  to  the  House  of  Commons 
that  they  should  themselves  have  seats  in  that  House. 
People  who  advance  this  argument  confound  the 
right  of  representation  in  the  House  of  Commons 
with  a  right  to  sit  there.  Representation  is  one 
thing,  actual  service  in  the  House  of  Commons  is 
another.  A  Member  of  Parhament  makes  politics  a 
profession.  A  right  to  vote  for  a  Member  of  Parha- 
ment certainly  does  not  make  the  person  who  ex- 
ercises that  right  a  professional  pohtician.  In  form- 
ing an  opinion  as  to  who  is  deserving  of  a  vote,  a 
woman  need  not  leave  her  home  and  its  surroundings. 
A  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons — at  least,  so  far  as 
Irish  women  are  concerned — would  necessitate  her 
leaving  not  merely  her  home  but  her  country.  It  is 
said  at  times  that  women  are  too  emotional  for  public 
life.  Well,  experience,  as  far  as  it  goes,  contradicts 
this.  We  hear  no  complaints  from  those  countries 
where  women  enjoy  the  franchise;  but  responsibility 
is  a  very  effective  preventive — a  very  cooling  seda- 
tive. As  to  the  objection,  founded  on  the  turmoil 
of  elections,  I  do  not  think,  now  that  the  Ballot  Act 
has  been  passed,  that  a  woman's  nature  would  suffer 


188    REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

much  from  walking  to  the  polling-booth  to  make  a 
cross  upon  a  ballot-paper.  The  one  danger  which  I 
would  apprehend  is  that,  as  there  is  in  most  partner- 
ships a  predominant  partner,  there  might,  in  the 
partnership  of  marriage,  be  a  predominant  partner 
also,  and  that  the  latter,  whether  husband  or  wife, 
might  have  in  effect  two  votes. 

I  do  not  mean  a  predominancy  gained  by  methods 
of  aggression,  but  by  that  ascendancy  which  a  strong 
mind  insensibly  and  unconsciously  acquires  over  a 
weaker  one.  This  objection  as  to  a  double  vote 
would  not,  of  course,  apply  to  spinsters  and 
widows. 

I  fear  I  have  spoken  far  too  long;  but  before  I 
conclude  shall  I  say  anything  about  the  great  topic 
of  the  hour — the  doings  of  the  "  miUtants  "?  Per- 
haps I  may  tell  you  of  an  experience  I  had  a  few  days 
ago.  I  met  a  very  charming  mihtant  suffragette — 
she  looked  meekness  itself — and,  encouraged  by  her 
gentle  demeanour,  in  my  most  suave  tone  I  said: 
"  Take  care  that  your  drastic  operations  do  not 
create  a  revolt  in  the  public  mind  against  your  move- 
ment." Immediately  her  expression  hardened,  and, 
with  a  look  of  scorn,  she  exclaimed :  "  Don't  be 
affected."  I  replied:  "I  am  not  affected."  There- 
upon she  said,  with  much  acerbity:  "  What  political 
battle,  what  reform  worth  the  name,  was  ever  won 
without  some  show  of  physical  force — call  it  excess 
if  you  will  ?  Don't  you  know  that  it  was  the  action 
of  us  militants  which  brought  our  movement  to  the 


SPEECH  ON  WOMEN'S  SUFFRAGE      189 

prominent  position  that  it  at  present  occupies — that 
but  for  us  it  would  have  ever  remained  in  the  languid 
atmosphere  of  unavaiUng  argument  ?  Where  would 
the  movement  be  but  for  the  energy  of  the  mihtants  ? 
Why,  in  a  back  seat  in  some  obscure  corner."  Before 
I  had  time  to  reply  the  young  lady  added :  "  Did  you 
know  Mr.  Gladstone  ?"  "  I  knew  him,"  I  said,  "  to 
be  a  pre-eminently  great  Liberal  statesman;  a  man 
of  surpassing  intellectuality,  of  stainless  moral  char- 
acter, and  of  great  refinement."  "  Well,"  said  my 
young  lady  friend,  "  with  all  his  refinement,  with  all 
his  intellectuality,  with  all  his  stainlessness  of  moral 
character,  he  said  that  the  Clerkenwell  explosion — 
the  attempt  to  blow  up  the  Clerkenwell  Prison — 
brought  the  question  of  the  disestabhshment  of  the 
Irish  Church  within  the  range  of  practical  pohtics." 
Then,  with  a  lofty  wave  of  the  hand,  the  young  lady 
added:  "  You  were  never  born  to  be  a  statesman;  you 
are  a  mere  Judge."  "  Well,"  I  replied,  "  statesman 
or  no  statesman,  mere  Judge  or  no  mere  Judge,  if 
you  are  brought  before  me  for  a  criminal  offence,  I 
will  sentence  you  to  imprisonment."  ''  Sentence  me," 
she  cried,  "  if  you  will;  gladly  will  I  go  to  jail  to  attest 
by  my  sufferings  the  sincerity  of  my  convictions." 

But  I  must  pass  away  from  this  enthusiastic  young 
lady  and  her  mihtant  propaganda.  For  myself — 
had  I  to  decide  the  main  issue  in  the  case  before  me 
— I  might  find  it  necessary  to  reserve  judgment. 
But  one  point  at  least  requires  no  lengthened  dehb- 
eration,  and  that  is  that  Mrs.  Fawcett  is  entitled  to 


190   REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 

our  fullest  meed  of  admiration.  We  hope  we  have 
not  seen  the  last  of  her;  we  hope  that  we  may  have 
her  with  us  very  soon  again;  we  will  hail  her  advent 
with  great  joy,  not  merely  because  we  are  an  hospitable 
nation,  but  because  we  believe  her  noble  intellect 
does  honour  to  her  sex. 


INDEX 


Abbotsford,  164 

Adams,     Richard,     County     Court 

Judge,  54 
Ainsworth,  Harrison,  165 
Alverstone,  Viscount,  76 
Ardilaun,  Lord,  46 
Armstrong,  Serjeant,  137 
Atkinson.Lord,  83-85,  144 

Bailey,  Fenian,  51 

Balfour,  the  Right  Hon.  A.  J.,  71, 78, 

82-87 
Bandon,  The  Countess  of,  154 
Bannerman,  Sir  Henry  C,  184 
Barrett,  Trial  of,  35 
Barry,  Judge,  48 
Beaconsfield,  Lord,  179 
Beresford,  Lord  Charles,  68 
Beresford,  Lord  Marcus,  68 
Bergin,  Chevalier,  140 
Berkeley,  Bishop,  144 
Birrell,  Mr.  Augustine,  110 
Bismarck,  Count  Herbert,  167 
Blarney,  Groves  of,  155 
Blunt,  Mr.  Wilfred,  81 
Blunt,  Lady  Anne,  82 
Boat  Race,  International,  153 
Botany  Bay,  12 
Brady,  Irish  Invincible,  53 
Breach  of  Promise  Cases,  21,  140 
Brocken,  166 
Brosnan,  Mrs.,  36 
Brown,  Thomas,  35 
Brown,  Mrs.,  36 
Buller,  Sir  Redvers,  69 
BuUer,  Lady  Audrey,  70 
Burke,  Under  Secretary,  53 
Burren  Country,  17 
Bushe,  Chief  Justice,  104 
Butt,  Isaac,  22,  104 
Byrne,  Inspector,  81 
Byrne,  Mrs.  Frank,  56 


CaSrey,  Invincible,  53 
Campaign,  The  Plan  of,  81-86 
Carey,  James,  Invincible,  52,  63 
Carey,  Peter,  Invincible,  58 
Carey,  Serjeant,  93 
Carlsbad,  161 
Carnelly  House,  1 
Carson,   Sir    Edward,    74,   78,    99, 

144 
Casey,  Thomas,  approver,  47 
Casey,  Michael,  46 
Casey,  Patrick,  47 
Casey,  John,  47 
Castle  Island,  Co.  Cork,  35 
Castletown  House,  97 
Catholic  Emancipation,  2 
Catholic  Education  Right,  29 
Cavendish,  Lord  Frederick,  53 
Celbridge,  97 
Christian  Science,  150 
Clanricarde  Estate,  81 
Clanricarde,  Lord,  81,  85 
Clare,   Co.,    1,   4,   17,   28,  39,  169, 

170 
aare  Election,  28 
Clemenceau,  Monsieur,  162 
Clerkenwell  Explosion,  189 
ClifEs  of  Moher,  17 
Clongowes  Wood  College,  7,  8 
Coercion  Act,  78 
CoU,  Gweedore  Prisoner,  95 
Cork  Assizes,  19-24 
Cork  Exhibition,  154 
Couch,  Sir  Arthur  Quiller,  112 
Cowper,  Lord,  56 
Creasy,  Sir  Edward,  167 
Crimes  Act,  78 
Crown  Prosecutor  for  Green  Street, 

32-39 
Curley,  Daniel,  Invincible,  53,  58 
Curraghmore,  68 
Curran,  104 


191 


192    REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 


Delanj-,  Patrick,  Invincible,  53 
Delany,  Daniel,  Invincible,  53 
Delaney,  Dr.  S.  J.,  9 
De  Moleyns,  County  Court  Judge,  25 
DiUon,  Mr.  John,  M.P.,  87 
Doloughty,  John,  42 
Dominican  Monastery,  157 
Dowden,  Professor,  181 
Doyle,  Peter,  Invincible,  53 
Doyle,  Constable,  42 
Dryburgh  Abbey,  166 
Dublin  Castle,  78 

Emmanuel  College,  153 
Emmet  Pdsing,  158 
Experts  Testimony,  135 

Fagan,  Michael,  Invincible,  53 
Famine,  The  Great,  3 
Farrell,  Robert,  Fenian,  53 
Faust,  Goethe's,  145 
Fawcett,  Mrs.,  178,  183,  189 
Fenianism,  51 
Field,  Mr.,  .52,  61 
Fisher,  Mr.  Hayes,  87 
Fitzgerald,  Lord,  19,  25,  31 
Fitzgerald,  Mrs.,  33 
Fitzgerald,  Patrick,  36 
Fitzgibbon,  Lord  Justice,  104 
Fitzharris,  James,  Invincible,  53 
Fogherty,  Dr.,  Bishop  of  Killaloe, 

169 
Fontainebleau,  Palace  of,  162 
Forester,  Fenian,  59 
Forester,  Mrs.,  59 
Forster,  W.  E. ,  Chief  Secretary,  52 
Franco-Prussian  War,  166 
Freeman's  Journal,  The,  28,  43,  74, 

84 

Ghosts,  11,  158 

Gibson,  Mr.  Justice,  95 

Gladstone,  ]VIr.,  68,  138,  179,  189 

Goethe,  145 

Gold,  H.  G..  155 

Goodall,  Frank,  Huntsman,  98 

Gordon,  General,  138 

Gray,  Mr.  Dwyer,  43 

Green  Street  Court-House,  42 

Gregory,  Lady,  16 

Grifhth,  Sir  Richard  Waldie,  164 

Griffith,  Lady  Waldie,  164 

Gweedore  Trial,  92 


Haldane,  Lord,  1S4 

Hanlon,  Joseph,  Invincible,  53 

Hanlon,  Laurence,  Invincible,  53 

Harrington,  Mr.  Timothy,  M.P.,  73 

Holmes,  Lord  Justice,  144 

Holyrood,  165 

Homburg,  68 

Hounds,  Meath,  98 

Hounds,  Kildare,  98 

Houston,  Mr.,  K.C.,  95 

Huddy,  The  Bailiffs,  46 

Hunting  Recollections,  97 

Huxley,  62 

Hynes,  Francis,  42 

Hendersyde  Park,  164 

International  Boat  Race,  153 
International  Cup,  153 
Invincibles,  Irish,  51  et  seq. 
Irish  Language,  136 
Irving,  Henry,  147 

Jedburgh,  165 

Joyces,  The,  46 

Judges,  Tribute  from  the  Irish,  174 

Judgments,  135 

Kavanagh,  Invincible,  56,  57 
Kelly,  Tim,  Invincible,  53 
Keegan,  Miss,  141 
Kenny,  Fenian,  51 
Keogh,  Judge,  23 
Kilfenora  Village,  29 
Killaloe,  Bishop  of,  169 
Kilwarden,  Lord,  158 
Kilwarden,  Lady,  158 
Killowen,  Lord  Russell  of,  138 
King  Edward,  161 
Knockanane,  Co.  Clare,  42 

Land  League,  The,  31,  43 

Lawson,  Judge,  51 

Leander  Club, 153 

Lee,  River,  153 

Lefroy,  Lord  Chief  Justice,  180 

Lehmann,  R.  H.,  155 

Lcntaigne,  Father,  S.J.,  8 

Lockhart,  164 

Londonderry,  Marquis  of,   82,   88, 

167,  172 
Londonderry,  Marchioness  of,  88 
Lucerne,  110 


INDEX 


193 


Maamstrasna  Massacre,  47 

Maamstrasna  Debate,  49 

Macaulay,  Lord,  4 

Madden,  Mr.  Justice,  184 

Mahony,  The  O'Gorman,  28 

McCaffrey,  Edward,  Invincible,  53 

MacDermot,  The,  95 

McFadden,  The  Rev.  James,  92 

McMahon,  Mi-s.,  59 

Marienbad,  161 

Martin,  Thomas,  Invincible,  53 

Martin,  Inspector,  93 

Melrose  Abbey,  175 

Mitchelstown,  72 

Mill,  John  Stewart,  184 

Milton,  HI 

Moher,  Cliffs  of,  17 

MoUoy,  Mr.  Coastantine,  94 

Monahan,  Chief  Justice,  180 

Montespan,  Madame  de,  162 

Moonlight,  Captain,  32 

Moonlighters,  33 

Moore,  Major,  98 

Moriarty,  Lord  Justice,  141 

Morris,  Lord,  45 

Morbney,  William,  Invincible,  53 

Mullet,  James,  Invincible,  53 

Mullet,  Joseph,  Invincible,  53 

Murphy,  Serjeant  Frank,  5 

Murphy,  Judge,  43-62 

Naish,  Lord  Chancellor,  8,  17,  54, 

104,  144 
Nee,  49 

Newlands  House,  157 
Nauheim,  68 
Ne  Temere  Papal  Decree,  135 

O'Brien,  Edward,  Invincible,  52 
O'Brien,  Mr.  Justice  James,  20 
O'Brien,    John    of    BaUynalacken, 

Member  for  Limerick,  1,  2,  3,  5, 

7,  12 
O'Brien,  Mr.  Justice  William,  20,  53, 

58,  60,  64 
O'Brien,  Mr.  William,  Member  for 

Cork,  67,  72,  81,  84,  87 
O'Connell,  Daniel,  2,  4,  28 
O'Connor,  Sir  Nicholas,  8 
O'Donnell,  Francis,  Fenian,  63 
O'Hagan,  Lord,  138 
O'Loghlin,  Sir  Colman,  28 


Olphert  Estate,  92 
Oscott  College,  7 
O'Shaughnessy,  Mr.  Richard,  8 
Oxford,  153 

Palles,  Lord  Chief  Baron,  15,  86 
Parnell,  Charles  Steward,  22,  29 
Parnell  Commission,  76 
Parnellism  and  Crime,  76 
Petcherini,  Father,  139 
Peter  the  Packer,  Soubriquet  of,  43, 

86,  120 
Philbin,  Anthony,  47 
Phoeois  Park  Murders,  52 
Pigott,  Lord  Chief  Baron,  180 
Pigott,  77 

Plunkett,  Sir  Horace,  172 
Poor  Law  Act,  2 
Porter,  Sir  Andrew,  54 
Punchestown  Races,  17 
Purser,  Miss,  181 

Queen  v.  Parnell,  29 
Queen  Victoria,  151 

Radcliffe,  Mrs.,  11 
Robertson,  Mr.  Forbes,  147 
Roche,  Mr.  John,  M.P.,  83 
Ross,  Mr.  Justice,  94,  144 
Rowles,  Henry,  Invincible,  52 
Rowland,  Mr.,  M.P.,  82 
Royal  Literary  Fund,  110 
Russell,  Lord  John,  4 

Salmon,  Provost,  13 

Scartaglin,  Castle  Island,  38 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  164 

Sedan,  The  Anniversary  of,  166 

Shakespeare,  111,  147 

Shell,  Richard  Lalor,  4 

Shelbourne  Hotel,  12 

Sheridan,  Invincible,  56 

Shore,  Canon  Teignmouth,  13 

Smith,  Irish  Invincible,  56 

Smollett,  1 

Spencer,  Earl,  67 

Spenser,  Poet,  111 

Sprudel  Well,  161 

Suffrage,  Speech  on  Women's,  178 

Suffragettes,  Militant,  188 

Sullivan,  T.  D.,  29 

Sullivan,  Mr.  Denis,  54 


194    REMINISCENCES  OF  LORD  O'BRIEN 


Tabernacle,  The,  148 
Tallagh,  Co.  Dublin,  157 
Tenants'  Rights,  29 
Terry,  Miss  Ellen,  147 
"Bhackeray,  5 

Theatre  Royal,  Dublin,  147 
Threatening  letters,  32 
Tree,  Sir  Herbert,  147 
Tree,  Lady,  148 
Trinity  College,  12 
Twohey,  Mrs.,  34 
Twohey,  James,  33 
Tynan,  "No.  1,"  57 

United  Ireland,  50 
Ussher    v.    Ussher    Judgment, 
113 

Vandeleur,  Captain  Hector,  28 
Vandeleur,  Colonel,  28 
Vandyke,  Anthony,  1G5 


Versailles,  101 
Virgil,  5 

Walsh,  Irish  Invincible,  56 
Walker,   Sir   Samuel    (Lord   Chan- 
cellor of  Ireland),  17, 84 
Watson,    John,    Master    of    Meath 

Hounds,  98 
Webb,  County  Court  Judge,  54,  144 
Whelan,  Patrick,  Invincible,  52 
Whyte-MelviUe,  163 
Witches'  Sabbath,  166 
Wolseley,  Viscount,  89,  168 
Wolseley,  Viscountess,  89 
Woodford  Evictions,  81-84 
Wright,  Mr.  Justice,  23 
Wyndham,  The  Right  Hon.  George, 
106 

Zetland,  Marquis  of,  88 
Zetland,  Marchioness  of,  88 
Zingari  Club,  91 


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